P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
This week we see Jacob have a life-changing experience with God. We deeply need the same kind of experience with God, so this week we study the passages to see some principles on how we can experience God like he did.
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, the Psalmist writes, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Let this be my heart today. My soul longs for you and I try to satisfy it with so many lesser things. Today Lord meet with me and let me experience all that you have for me.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 121…
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:22-24
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 6:12
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Mark 6:45-46
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?”
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:22-24
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 6:12
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Mark 6:45-46
We are not starting at the beginning of Jacob’s story, so just a little recap to start. Jacob was born to Isaac and Rebekah. He has a brother named Esau and all of Jacob’s life he has been a deceiver. He deceives his father for the blessing that belongs to Esau and because of that Esau hates him. Jacob leaves home to find himself a wife nad finds himself two wives, Leah and Rachel. A lot to that part of the story, but that is not for us today. In our text today, Jacob is preparing to see his brother Esau and he is absolutely terrified, because Esau is bringing along 400 men. Jacob thinks all of his deception will finally catch up to him tomorrow morning. The night before this huge day he sends everyone else ahead of him. Everything he owns and everyone that is with him. Jacob finds himself alone. This is when his encounter with God happens. Jesus shows us this as well in the New Testament. When Jesus wanted to encounter his heavenly Father he went alone to desolate places to pray and to seek his face. Principle number one this week for encountering God is getting alone to meet God ourselves
Lord, I ask that you meet with me. Rid my mind of distractions and fill me with your Spirit so I can focus on you.
Heavenly Father, we come before you, seeking revival for our nation. Restore our hearts, turning us back to your ways. Pour out your Spirit across America, igniting faith, hope, and love in every corner. Heal our divisions, renew our minds, and guide our leaders with wisdom and humility. May your truth and grace sweep through this land, transforming lives and drawing us closer to You.
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?
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:22-24
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Luke 6:12
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Mark 6:45-46
Yielding Prayer
Lord, my desire is to meet with you. One of the ways it seems for that to happen in Scripture is for me to be alone with you. Forgive me for the busyness and distraction filled way I tend to live my life. Forgive me for my fear of the vulnerability that comes when it is just you and me. Fill me with your Spirit and increase my desire for more time with you alone.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 40…
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
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.