P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Jesus calls us to follow him and all that comes with that.
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
Creator God, you created me from the dust, and to dust, I shall return. As I enter into your presence would you breathe your life into me and reanimate me through your Spirit? Speak to me now.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 99:
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
They called to the Lord, and he answered them
In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!
Psalm 99:6-9
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Matthew 16:24-28 where we read:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:24-28
Jesus tells his disciples and us what it looks like to follow him. It is a life that lays everything down for his glory. It is a life that embraces suffering because suffering leads to glory. Jesus defines what it looks like to follow him. It is a life that denies our desires for his desires. It is a life that sacrifices itself on a cross because our lives are no longer our own, but we were bought with a price. Jesus says this knowing that he is the perfect Son of God who will be killed on the cross for the sake of a sinful people. He is not calling us to do anything he won’t do himself. He gives us the reason why as well. He knows that the things of this earth will not be taken into eternity. To not waste our lives chasing after the things of this world. All that matters in this life is what we think about when we think about God. Jesus wants our focus to not be on the things of this world but on the things of God.
Jesus, show me what it looks like to follow after you. Fill me with your Spirit as I now turn to think about my own heart in light of this Scripture.
1) What does it look like for me to deny myself and take up my cross?
2) Where does the current culture lie to me about these truths?
Our Father and our God, I come to you now to ask for revival in our nation. I pray that your Spirit would fall on your Church. Would you wake us from our slumber and free us from our love of this world? I ask that you would manifest yourself in a supernatural way in this season of time and draw all people to yourself. Come in such power and glory that we would know that this was of you and not the work of human hands. Hear the cry of my heart and respond oh Lord!
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.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:24-28
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are so good to me. Give me the strength to obey your difficult words here. Let me know that you are the God who loves me and that is why you call me to this in my life. Pour out your Spirit and let me know you deeply as I go throughout this day.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 41:10:
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
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.