P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we are reminded that we are to work for the Lord’s name in all aspects of our lives.
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 enter into your presence let me experience your steadfast love that never ceases. Pour out your mercies that are never-ending and new every morning upon my heart. Great is your faithfulness and therefore my hope is in you today.*
*Adapted from Lamentations 3:22-24
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 126:
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:1-6
As I read the passage, I am asking the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to me.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17
As I reread the passage, I am reflecting on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17
Discernment is not just a habit to arrive at when a big decision needs to be made. It is a habit that is developed each and every day in the small things. We looked at the gift that Scripture is yesterday and today we need Scripture to remind us who we are and what we are called to as we go about our life. How beautiful is it that because of what Jesus has done for us God’s Word calls us holy and beloved? Not based on our performance, but based on what he has done we are his chosen people. As a part of his family, we have to then ask ourselves what have we been called to do? We have been called to do everything in the name of the Lord. Everything from the mundane to the wild parts of life is to be done for him. What a wonderful calling on all of our lives. A call that cannot be done unless we are relationally connected to the Lord. If we want a heart after God’s heart then we need to be close to his heart.
Lord, I ask that you show me what it looks like to do everything for your name’s sake. Show me the beauty of who you are and what you have called me to do in this life.
Lord, as I look at the world around me my soul can easily fall into despair. In a world full of brokenness and sin, I ask where does my help come from? You hear me and you remind me that my help comes from you the maker of heaven and earth. I ask that you would pour out your Spirit upon this world. Bring a supernatural revival that this world is desperate for that only you can bring. Show us your glory that we may praise you forevermore.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen for how the Lord is inviting me to respond to him. Where in my life do I need to yield in obedience to what he has for me?
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you have given me breath and everything else I have in this life. Give me the strength to lay it down at your feet. Fill me with the power of your Spirit that everything I do today will be in your name and your name alone.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 55:8-9:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
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.