P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We enter into another one of the hard sayings of Jesus today.
Together we will pray (P.R.A.Y.) each day – ‘P’: Pausing to be still as we come into the presence of the Lord. ‘R’: Rejoicing as we remember who our God is and what He has done, and Reflecting on His word. ‘A’: Asking God to help us and others. And ‘Y’: yielding to His will in accordance with His word.
As I come before you to pray, I still my thoughts and quiet my mind. I seek to make you the center of my focus.
Prayer of Approach
As I enter into your presence today I remind myself that you are the God who makes known to me the path of life. In you, there is fullness of joy and at your right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. With that reminder, I ask that you meet with me now.
*Adapted from Psalm 16:11
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 96:
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
Psalm 96:7-9
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Matthew 10:34 where we read:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
Jesus shifts from comforting words in yesterday’s section of text to difficult ones today. Jesus’ Words are difficult because they are confusing. He came as the Prince of Peace why is he now saying he has not come to bring peace, but a sword? Jesus is making it clear to his followers that this life is not all about tranquility and political peace. That is not what he came to bring. He came to bring peace in a very real sense, but it is not the peace that they might have been looking for. Jesus’ gospel is one that is divisive because he claims to be God. If he is God then he deserves it all! His mission is one that brings a peace that is an overcoming of sin and the salvation of God. There is a conflict that comes when our very nature is that of sin. A sword divides and so does the truth that Jesus brings. There is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus.
Jesus, let me hear your words today and give me understanding. I ask that you give me a clear picture of who you are and why you came today.
1) Am I shocked by these verses? Why or why not?
2) What do I learn about who Jesus is and what he came to do?
3) Where has Jesus brought conflict in my own heart?
4) Because I obey and follow Jesus has there been conflict with others?
Jesus, revive our hearts. You have come to give your people abundant life. An abundant life that can only come from you. Break us of our desires for this earth that promise to satisfy us, but leave us empty inside. Give us a spirit of repentance to turn from the ways of this world and come back into union with you. In our brokenness would you fill us mightily with your Spirit? May all the glory and praise belong to you.
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me the strength to obey your Words. There are so many situations and things in this world that fill me with great fear, let me not turn to that fear. Let me trust that you are the God who loves me and is in control. You watch over the sparrows and you are watching over me and I need not fear.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 28:20:
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age
Matthew 28:20
Closing Prayer
Lord, enable me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love you today with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to serve you today, by loving and caring for others as I do my own self; and, to exalt you today, by telling the people in my world about the abundant and eternal life found only through faith in Jesus
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.