P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
This week we meditate on the idea that following Jesus means prioritizing Jesus above everything and everyone else.
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 the deer pants for water so my soul pants for you. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? In this moment God would you meet with me? I desire your presence so make your presence known to me. Let me experience your love and mercy as I approach your throne.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 27:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
Psalm 27:1-3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.
Luke 14:1-6
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?”
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.
Luke 14:1-6
The Pharisees are at it again! They invite Jesus to dinner where they continue to watch him carefully. Again, they are looking for a reason to kill him. The language of the text seems to imply that they set up another trap. It was normal to gather for a large meal on the Sabbath and they put a man with dropsy right in the way as Jesus enters. Dropsy, or edema, is characterized by the buildup of excess fluid in the cavities or tissues of the body. This man was swollen by the retention of water possibly indicating that his organs were failing. The Pharisees are seeing what Jesus will do with this man in his sight. By their wrong and super strict standards of the Sabbath even healing shouldn’t happen. Jesus shows us his heart for people finding healing.
Lord, I ask that you give me eyes and heart like Jesus. Let me see those who are in need of your grace, mercy, and healing. Give me a heart that doesn’t just see, but acts as the hands and feet of Jesus at that moment.
Lord, do what you have done before. Let me see what you have done in history with my own eyes. Bring revival to this nation again. Meet us with a time of supernatural blessing through your Holy Spirit. Make hearts that are dead again alive in the promise of your gospel. Let us see your glory because it is all we are clinging to.
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?
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.
Luke 14:1-6
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me faith to trust you. Let my life be characterized by a deep desire to obey you no matter the room I’m in. Fill me with your Spirit that I walk with you all the days of my life.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 6:33:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
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.