P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we look at the gross sin of Lot’s daughters. I assume no children read this on their own, but take this as a content warning for what you are about to read.
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 I approach this time with you fill my heart with hope that you are the God who makes all things new. You do not run from me when I am searching for you. I am seeking you now. Speak to me through your Word and renew my hope.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 34…
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 34:1-3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Genesis 19:30-38
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?”
Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Genesis 19:30-38
This is gross, disgusting incest and it is sinful to say the very least. Before we get to Lot’s daughters, let’s start with Lot. Where is Lot’s sin in all of this? Firstly, he knew he had daughters of marrying age and chose not to find husbands for them. He was so filled with fear to embrace another community that he left them abandoned to find their own way. This does not excuse what they do, but it is a part of it. Secondly, Lot made the decision to raise his family in Sodom. He raised his daughters in a wicked place with gross values. It is not shocking that they turn to that behavior when that is all they know. From these incestuous pregnancies come the line of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Lord, I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit. Show me what you have for me today. Let me not just see the sin in others, but allow this to be a time where I see my own sin.
Heavenly Father, we come before You with hearts yearning for Your presence. Revive us, O Lord, and breathe new life into our souls. Stir our spirits and awaken us to Your truth and love. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, igniting a passion for Your Word and a fervor to share Your grace. Restore our joy and renew our faith. May Your light shine through us, transforming our lives and our communities. Guide us, empower us, and use us for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
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?
Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Genesis 19:30-38
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you call me to be in this world but to remain faithful to you. I ask that you give me wisdom to see what is of you and what is not. Give me the courage to not fall prey to the ideas of this world even if it makes me an outcast. Give me faith that your Word is good and true and it can be trusted.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8…
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
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.