P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We go back into the Old Testament and look at the story of Noah to see the cost of following Jesus.
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
Lord, as I come to you this morning I ask that your Word that I read and meditate on not return void in my heart. Let your Word accomplish the task that you have set before it and let it succeed in the way you have sent it. Bury the truths you have for me today in my heart.
*Adapted from Isaiah 55:11
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 102:
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
Psalm 102:18-22
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Genesis 6:9-22 where we read:
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him
Genesis 6:9-22
Noah was righteous in a world that was not. Noah followed God in a world that did not. God made a decision that Noah would survive his judgment of the world. Noah must have obviously been psyched to be free from that judgment and death that would come to all others. What was the cost of obeying God though? Think about the circumstances of his day-to-day life. Every day he woke up and he went to work on the massive ark purely out of trust in God. In a world that was so corrupt God wanted to start over how was Noah most likely treated? I don’t know for sure, but I doubt it was good. Noah trusted and obeyed God even when to everyone else he looked like a fool. Our current culture seems very similar to the days of Noah. Obeying God may look foolish to the world, but there is no better place for God’s people to be than living in obedience to him.
Lord, give me faith like Noah. I ask that you show me what it looks like to follow you in a world that seems to have gone mad.
1) What do I think it would have been like for Noah during those days?
2) What will I have to endure in order to follow God faithfully in our current culture?
3) Am I willing to sacrifice my reputation and other people’s opinions about me in order to follow God?
Lord, through the power of you speaking you bring life out of nothing, I saw that at creation. I plead with you now to do it again. Speak life into my heart. Revive the areas that are dead and do not stop there. Speak life over this city and the people in it. Revive our weary and cold hearts to shine forth your glory.
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.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him
Genesis 6:9-22
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me faith like Noah. Let me look at this world and the craziness of it and turn to you in obedience. Fill me with your Spirit to remain faithful in a faithless world. Let me be a beacon on a hill because I seek to obey you above all else.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 6:33:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
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.