P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week looking at the conversion of Saul who we better know as Paul!
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 my desire is to taste and see that you are good! Let me be blessed because I find my refuge in you. Let me lay down all that is going on in my life and the world around me at your feet today. Meet with me now and let me hear what you have for me today.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 144:
O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
Psalm 144:3-4
As you read the passage, ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to you.
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts 9:1-9
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?”
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts 9:1-9
Whenever I read the conversion of Paul (Yes, I know it says Saul in the text, but we best know him as Paul) I am always shocked that God chose him. He seems like the difficult choice at first. It’s like God you want this guy who is actively trying to kill people who are following you? There has to be someone else. We see the heart of God in this though. God has a heart for those who are far off and has the power to draw them close. He did that with Paul and he does that with us and he will do that for others all over the earth. God wants us to join his heart in this. To see people not as projects, but as people created by God and needing his grace in their lives. Paul was far from God and probably not the Christians first choice, but God chose him and transformed him. There is no one outside the power of God.
Lord, you saved me when I was lost and I ask that you would continue to do the same in this city. Draw people to yourself. Teach me what my role in all of this is.
Lord, we ask that you would move in our city and in the hearts of the people in Fort Lauderdale. Pour out your Spirit in a supernatural way in this season of time drawing all people to yourself.
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?
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts 9:1-9
Yielding Prayer
Lord, forgive me for doubting your grace at times. Forgive me for thinking people are to far gone to receive your love. Give me a heart that is the exact opposite. A heart that goes after people like Paul. Give me obedience to share the gospel with all of those around me. Let me see how much you have loved me and let me show that kind of love to others.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 5:6-8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8
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.