P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we see in the midst of a hard and busy season of life for his disciples Jesus invites them to rest.
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, I approach your throne today in total confidence. I come to you confidently in prayer, not in my own merit or worth, but the only confidence I have is that Jesus, your beloved Son, suffered and died on my behalf. His blood is my access to you and it’s in his name alone that I pray.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 106:1-3:
1 Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times!
Psalm 106:1-3
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Mark 6, where we read:
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Mark 6:7,27-31,45-46
Mark 6 is a whirlwind of a chapter that we are just reading parts of, but I encourage you to read the whole chapter! The chapter starts with Jesus giving his disciples the authority over unclean spirits and sending them out to fight spiritual battles against Satan and the evil powers of the world. Imagine the stories that would have come from that. It is a beautiful work, but it must have been exhausting and taking its toll on their souls. In the midst of that, their friend John the Baptist is beheaded and they have to go collect the body and bury their friend. Imagine the anguish of their souls. It was a season of noble busyness and deep grief. When they finally get to Jesus all they want to do is tell them of everything that happened. They are excited! What is Jesus’ response? He cares for their tired ragged souls. He cares for them. He invites them to go away by themselves to a desolate place and rest. In that moment though their rest is interrupted by the compassion of Jesus on the large crowd that had formed. And they watch Jesus miraculously feed over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Incredible! Jesus then immediately takes them back to their need for rest. He sends them off ahead of them while he dismisses the crowds. Then Jesus himself went off to be alone and pray. The eternal Son of God needed to go off in solitude. His disciples needed to do that as well and so do we. If we are honest our souls are weary and ragged oftentimes because of the pace and circumstances of living life in a broken world. We need to enter into silence and solitude regularly to experience the love and care of the God who loves and cares for our weary and ragged souls.
Lord, I ask that you would show me the love you have for me today. As I sit here at your feet I ask that you would show me what you have to say to me today. Let me not miss it.
You are the God who moves. I ask that you would do exactly what you have done in every century throughout history. Move in your people. Awake the sleepers. Save the lost. Meet this world in a supernatural way that brings you all the glory. We are crying out for a broken and messy world that needs your love so desperately.
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.
7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Mark 6:7,27-31,45-46
Yielding Prayer
Lord, it feels like I am being asked to add another thing to my already hectic life. Fill me with your Spirit and allow me to say yes to the invitation of rest that you are offering my soul. Give me the strength to not pass up this opportunity and return to the normal pace of life.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in James 4:8:
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:8
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.