P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we learn faith is a necessary component of effective prayer!
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
When I come to you and your word, Lord, I come (albeit subconsciously) with preconceived thoughts and notions about who you are and how you feel about me that are also, perhaps, shaped by my experiences. I don’t want any of those things to change or affect the way I hear or receive your truth today. So, please help me this day to both see and then set those things aside so that I can hear you more accurately and clearly. And help me to believe everything I hear and every word I read in your scriptures and to trust that you will meet with me here and transform my heart as I seek to align it with yours.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 37…
“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.”
Psalm 37:3-5
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”’
Mark 11:20-24
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?”
“As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”’
Mark 11:20-24
The Christian faith requires, well, faith! It’s by faith in Jesus that we enter into a relationship with God and it’s by faith in God’s nature, character, words and promises that we then learn to live for God. So, it’s not surprising to discover that faith, too, is a central component of prayer. In this passage, we are boldly taught that whatever we ask for in prayer, believing that we have received it, will be ours. And other passages say similar things. Matthew 21:22, says that “Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” James 1:6 tells us that we are to “ask in faith, without doubting.”
And we’re told elsewhere that we are to be people who walk (or live) by faith and not by sight, and as such, are to trust in our unseen God to work in unseen ways. As Elisha prayed when the city was surrounded by an enemy army, “O Lord, please open (my servant’s) eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17-19)
It is only someone who knows God and who believes in his power, love and faithfulness that can successfully move past all that he “sees.” Thus Jesus’ statement in our passage today that the faith that we are to have in prayer is a faith in God.
Wayne Grudem attempts to explain what Jesus is saying to us in the passage, by saying that, “Jesus is apparently saying that when we ask (God) for something, the kind of faith that will bring results is a settled assurance that, when we prayed for (that) something, God agreed to grant our request.” To which he adds, “only God can give us that assurance.” In other words, the assurance of God’s answer to our prayers must be spiritually recognized and accepted. Andrew Murray says, “A soul that not only seeks an answer, but seeks first the God who gives the answer, receives the power to know that it has what it has asked of him. If it knows that it has asked according to his will and promises, and that it has come to and found himself to give it, it does believe that it has received.”
This ties many of this week’s ideas together. It is those who are abiding in Christ, who are delighting themselves in the Lord, who fear him and have his word within them, etc., who are then able to discern his will in a particular situation and then pray with a confident faith that, what they’ve requested he is predisposed to give. Let us draw near to God in these ways and then confidently trust in our unseen God to work in unseen ways to bring about seen results for his praise, glory, the revelation of his power, and the good of his people.
Lord, I want to be a person who walks and prays in this assurance of who you are and what you want to do for me. Show me now, as I pray, the answer to these questions:
My God and Father, I understand that you meant prayer to be the great power by which your church should do its work. It is when we ask, not only for ourselves but also for others, that you answer and heavenly blessings are brought to earth. What a wonderful privilege it is to partner with you to have your kingdom come! So today, I ask that you would bring revival, first into my heart, as I seek to align myself rightly with you, and then into my home, neighborhood, workplace and the world!
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?
“As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”’
Mark 11:20-24
Yielding Prayer
Lord Jesus, sometimes I come to you for answers already feeling defeated. Help me Lord! I confess my unbelief and all of the ways I look at the circumstances of my life and feel powerless! All of the times that it feels like my little prayers can’t even move pebbles, much less mountains. Forgive the many ways that I walk by sight (and feelings) as opposed to faith.
Lord, I believe that this prayer is in accordance with your will and promises. I will stand in faith that you hear and will answer! I believe in your power and might for my circumstances. Increase my faith and teach me to receive. Teach me to press on and to not give up, since you have promised (and proven) that you can do the impossible. Amen.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Luke 1…
“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37
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.