P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week resting in how it all ends for God’s children.
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 bow before you, yearning for Your guidance and comfort. Your love and mercy have been my strength, and I am grateful. Please open my heart to your will and fill me with your Spirit. Lead me in your truth, and help me to trust in your plan. Surround me with your peace and draw me closer to you.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 100…
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Revelation 21:1-5
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?”
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Revelation 21:1-5
Remind yourself of what is to come one day. That all of the things we will face in this life are not meaningless, but they are drawing us into the arms of our Savior who will one day will make everything bad become untrue.
Lord, I praise you for the hope you give me. You know that this life is difficult and is faced with opposition and suffering, yet you give me great reminders like this that nothing is wasted. Meet me with hope.
Heavenly Father, I seek your revival in my life. Restore my soul and renew my mind. Pour out your Spirit upon me and awaken a deeper love for you. Help me to turn away from distractions and focus on your purpose for my life. Let your grace renew my heart and inspire me to walk in your truth with unwavering faith.
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?
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Revelation 21:1-5
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are the Everlasting God who died so that I can find life. I pray that you keep me from temptation and deliver me from the evil one. Let me see that nothing is wasted in this life. Give me a longing for your return where no more tears and no more mourning will exist.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Jeremiah 29…
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
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.