P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
In this first week of our “River Dwellers: Life in the Holy Spirit” Series, we will be looking at how to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
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
Our Jesus, on Christmas we celebrated your first Advent (or “arrival”) into our dark and helpless world as Immanuel, God with us. We now want to thank you for not leaving us as orphans after your death, burial, resurrection and then return to Heaven. For, after that return, you sent us the promised Holy Spirit; the Spirit of truth, our helper. Enable us over these next few weeks to better understand how you desire to live and reign within us through the Holy Spirit. Let us hear your voice and experience your very real presence as we meet with you now. And then, by your Spirit, lead us through this day! (Based on John 14:16-18)
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Joel 2:
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. … And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Joel 2:28, 32a
As you read the passage, ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to you.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Acts 2:1-8
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. …this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel (in the “rejoice” passage above).
Acts 2:14, 16
Peter continues, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:22-24
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:32-41
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?”
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Acts 2:1-8
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. …this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel (in the “rejoice” passage above).
Acts 2:14, 16
Peter continues, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:22-24
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:32-41
From the beginning of creation, we are told that the Holy Spirit works to create, cultivate and continue the plans of God the Father and the work that God the Son began in his earthly ministry (cf. Acts 1:1-2) in accordance with those plans. We’re told in Genesis 1:22, for example, that the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters creating in accordance with the Word of God, and we see here again, in Acts 2, at Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit is poured out from heaven, (as prophesied in Joel 2) to grant great power to the life and witness of church. (Acts 1:8) In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem says that, “We may define the work of the Holy Spirit as follows: the work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.” Theologian, Gordon Fee, likewise refers to the Holy Spirit as, “God’s empowering presence.” Our faith is a supernatural faith in a supernatural God! He has not changed. We tend to forget that as we walk through our very ordinary days. One of the great dangers for Christians is the danger of being satisfied with something less than what is offered to us in the Scripture. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones refers to this as “spiritual contentedness” and calls it the single greatest threat to the life, power and vitality of the church (and, thus, to its witness). We grow “spiritually content” when we interpret the scripture in light of our own limited experiences (ie. we reduce what it offers us down to what we’ve known and experienced thus far); or when we grow afraid of what God might ask of us if we truly surrender to him and the filling of his Spirit (thus, trading the “so-much-more” of God yet to be experienced, for something so-much-less.
In the passage above, Peter teaches the crowd (and us) that if we repent and are baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so then, if you have trusted Christ in this way, then you have been given this gift. The very presence of God lives in you!
And Peter, too, possessed the Holy Spirit in that eternally life-changing way. However, one of the things we see in this passage is that, when the Spirit was poured out, Peter was completely transformed and given the supernatural power to witness even at the risk of his own life. Just prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter denied even knowing Jesus (three times) so that he could save his own life. Yet here we see him standing up before thousands of devout Jewish men and accusing them of being the very people who put the Savior of the world to death! And, even more stunningly, due to the power of the Spirit at work in and through Peter (and in them) they responded in repentance and faith!
I don’t see that same sort of power operating in many churches today. However, I do believe (because this is what the scriptures teach) that this power is still available to us today, both for our own lives and for the lives of others. One thing should be very clear: we are all surrounded by people who desperately need to witness the “active presence of God in the world.” He is the hope of the world! And he manifests his “empowering presence” to this world by the Holy Spirit’s work in and through his people.
Over the next 5 weeks, we will be exploring our relationship with the Spirit of God. Let us lay down our preconceived notions of what life in the Spirit looks like and seek God for all that he offers to us as his children.
Lord Jesus, help me to see where I am on the spectrum of faith laid out above. Was there a time where I repented of my sins and placed my faith in the finished work of Jesus on my behalf (his perfect life, atoning death and resurrection from the dead)? Am I a Christian? Have I been “made new” through faith in Christ? I take a moment to listen to you on this and ask you to help me see me as you do.
If my answer to the above question is yes, then Lord, what about this power that you clearly poured out on your people? Do I believe that you could or would want to do that for me today? Have I seen any of your power operating in my life? Have I grown “spiritually content?” Or, have I interpreted what the scriptures offer in terms of the Holy Spirit in light of my limited experiences with him and have simply assumed that there’s nothing more? Lord, I ask your forgiveness for any unbelief in my heart and life. Help me to trust that you gave us your powerful, miraculous presence because you knew we could not do this without you!
Lord, I want all of you that there is to have! I want that personally, I want that for Rio, and I want that for the Church here in South Florida! So, give us faith for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our day! And teach us to wait on you, to listen for your voice, to pray persistently for your Empowering Presence, and then to walk in your power. Do a great work through us for the sake of your Kingdom and your glory!
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?
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Acts 2:1-8
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. …this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel (in the “rejoice” passage above).
Acts 2:14, 16
Peter continues, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:22-24
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:32-41
Yielding Prayer
Father, the outpouring out of your Spirit on the early church caused a glorious, wonderful, uncontained explosion! And, if I’m honest, I don’t naturally desire explosions! Explosions are often uncomfortable and create conditions that I can’t always manage or contain. So, this scares me a little. Please, help me to trust that you will be with me in this “explosion!” Help me to remember that this “explosion” is glorious, wonderful, and good (and, in fact, infinitely that it’s better than the “less” that I have grown comfortable with). Lord, help me to take you out of whatever box (or boxes) that I have put you in and to believe for (and long for) the “more” you offer.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 10:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10
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.