P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We are in the Psalms today where we find helpful language to cry out to God with in the Advent season.
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 we enter into the Advent season I ask that you would meet with me. That I may experience the God who chose to come to earth to be the Savior that I could not be for myself. Remind me that you are the God who has come and that you will come again. Speak to me now.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 150:
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Psalm 150:1-2
As you read the passage, ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to you.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
and come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Psalm 80: 1-7; 17-19
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?”
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
and come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Psalm 80: 1-7; 17-19
Advent is a season of tension. It is a waiting for something that we deeply desire just don’t have yet. We look back at Christmas to when Jesus came the first time, but we long for him to come again. This Psalm helps give us the language in the in between. The Psalmist is pleading for restoration from God. He knows the beauty of the Lord and he desires to experience it again.
Lord, I ask that you would restore your people again just like the Psalmist desired in his day. Let your face shine on us today..
Lord, this Advent season I ask that you would revive my heart. Remind me and fill me with your Spirit that you are the God who entered into his creation. Let that spark a deep desire to experience you in this season. Pour out your Spirit in a supernatural way over these next weeks so that I might see your glory afresh.
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?
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
and come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Psalm 80: 1-7; 17-19
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I ask in this season that you would show me yourself. I seek to obey you so restore my life back to you. In all the busyness and distraction would you give me a heart of obedience to seek after your face. Let me experience you and your glory that I may be saved.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 9:6:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
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.