P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Christians grieve differently because of who God is.
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 you today remind me that my only comfort in life and death is that I wholly belong to you. You are God and I am not. Fill me with your Spirit and speak to me today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in John 8…
Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.
John 8:51
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
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?”
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
The Bible speaks of death much differently than our world does. Death is not the end for a Christian. Paul describes death as sleep in this passage. As Christians who are still alive, we grieve the loss of our loved ones, but we grieve differently because we have hope in the resurrection that will come.
Lord, I praise you for hope. I ask that you fill me with a hope that causes me to grieve death differently knowing that death may be the end of my earthly journey, but it is not the end of my eternity.
Lord, We come before you with hearts longing for renewal and revival. Pour out your Spirit upon us, ignite our faith, and rekindle our passion for your Word. Cleanse us from complacency and draw us closer to you. May your love and grace transform our lives, and may we be vessels of your light in a world in need. Restore our hope, strengthen our faith, and renew our commitment to your will.
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?
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Yielding Prayer
Lord, in obedience I trust in you. With something as difficult it can be easy for me to fall into despair, but I ask that you fill me with hope in your resurrection power. Let my grieving show a watching world that death is not the end for those who believe in you.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 11…
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
2 John 11:25-26
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.