P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We continue in “The Questions God Asks” and this week we come to the story of Cain and Abel.
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, you are the God who dispenses grace to a broken and sinful humanity. Let me experience you as I enter into your Word. Let this not just be a thought exercise, but make this a transformational encounter with the Living God. I am here to meet with you, so pour out your Spirit now.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in John 14…
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
John 14:15-17
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:1-5
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Hebrews 11:4
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 Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:1-5
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Hebrews 11:4
This week we look at the story of Cain and Abel. A story that takes place right after the Fall where we see the depths of sin that has cursed humanity. It all begins with sacrifices. Cain and Abel had two different responsibilities, but with the same purpose, to honor and glorify God with their work. Both bring an offering to God but receive two very different responses from God. Hebrews helps us understand what happened. There are not many adjectives used when speaking of Cain’s sacrifice, it was just some of his fruits. Abel’s was specific. He brought the firstborn and the fat portions of his flock. Abel brought the best and Cain just brought some of what he cultivated. God’s judgment is not based on sheep versus fruit. It is based on Abel willingly, in faith, sacrificing the best of what he had and Cain sacrificing what he hoped he could get away with. God withheld nothing from us. He sent his Son, his only beloved Son to be sacrificed on a cross for our sakes. God is calling us to do the same. He is not looking for perfection, but he is looking for our hearts to lay down the best of what we have for his glory because we know it is nothing in comparison to what he has given us.
Lord, you have withheld nothing from me. Your Son left Heaven and came to Earth as fully God, yet fully human. He lived a life that I could not live. He died the brutal death that I deserved. He did what I could never do. He was the ultimate sacrifice. I ask that you show me what that means. Show me how to respond to that kind of love.
Lord, when I realize that “revive” means to regain life, consciousness and strength, I can see the great need of it in the universal church. Forgive us where we have grown complacent, abdicating our role as the ones who are to bring the ministry of reconciliation into our world. Jesus, as I come before you, I ask you to revive us again, to make us look like people who live to love you and love others. Now show me my own heart. What would you say to me about how I love you and others?
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 Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Genesis 4:1-5
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Hebrews 11:4
Yielding Prayer
God, you gave it all. Let me see you and experience the depths of your love for me as I go from here. Your Son willingly and obediently gave it all for me. Fill me with your Spirit and transform my selfish soul into a sacrificial one.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8…
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
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.