P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week thinking about looking to Jesus.
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 long to know you deeper. Meet me in this desire. Reveal yourself to me that I may know you deeply. I want to experience all that you are willing to offer me. Speak to me through your Word and your Spirit now.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Isaiah 63…
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
Isaiah 63:7
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
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?”
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
We all need the reminder sometimes that Jesus has all of this under control. He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. He is not shocked about where we find ourselves on this journey called life and he won’t be shocked at what is ahead so we can trust him.
Lord, I thank you that none of this relies on me. You are the God who perfects my faith and let me trust you.
Lord, begin by reviving my own heart this week. Meet with me and show me where I am in sin or holding a part of my life back from you. Fill me with your Spirit and give me abundant life in you. I am desperate for a move of your Spirit this week.
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?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, you are worthy of all my praise. Forgive me for trying to control this life purely out of my own power. I ask that you give me eyes to see you today and fill me with your Spirit to give me strength as I seek to obey all you have for me.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Corinthians 5…
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
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.