P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we will explore how to discover our Spiritual gifts.
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 will proclaim your greatness! Exalted be your name! Picturing you now seated upon your throne, ruling over all, I am in awe! And I am humbled by the fact that you bend all the way down from there to listen to my prayers! Who am I, O Lord, that you are mindful of me? What am I that you care so deeply for me? Meet me in this time of prayer, my heavenly Father, and open my ears to your voice of love and faithfulness! (Based on Psalm 34, 8, and 116:2 NLT)
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in God’s love and power in Psalm 108:
“My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, LORD, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.”
“Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless. With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.”
Psalm 108:1-5, 12-13
As I read the passage below, I am asking the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to me.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:10-11
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:4-8
As I reread the passage, I reflect on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:10-11
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:4-8
As we mentioned yesterday, spiritual gifts are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit himself working in and through us as his people. In this way, we are privileged to join God in his kingdom work here on earth, in that we become the vessels through which he reveals himself both to his church and to the watching world. But, what if we don’t believe that we have a gift, or are not sure what our gift is?
The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 4 (see above), assures us that every believer is equipped for service. And the Apostle Paul, in the Romans 12 passage above, seems to assume that we will know what that gift is. The following tips are designed to help you figure it out:
The goal in this search for our Spiritual gifts, is that Rio would become, “in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work,” Ephesians 4:15-16. Could you imagine what a force for good we would be if we all found the place God had designed for us?!
Gracious heavenly Father, I ask you today for wisdom regarding the gift or gifts you have given me. Help me to see myself as you see me, and understand how to find my place in your kingdom work! (If this is your specific prayer, sit in stillness for a while, and see how the Lord leads…)
Forgive me for the times that I have not participated in the work of your kingdom and thank you for making me an integral and necessary part of the health, maturity and effectiveness of your church. Make me willing to give of myself in this way and show me any barriers in my heart or life that get in the way. Speak to me about these things.
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?
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:10-11
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:4-8
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, as I compare the importance of your work to the smallness of my life and abilities, I am tempted to shy away from what you have for me. However, as I trust you and step out in faith, I do not stop out on my own; for you promise to be with me, and to give me your strength and power, as I surrender my life to your call. Do that now, Lord, I pray.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Philippians 2:
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13
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.