P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
James confronts us today about our love for the world.
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
Heavenly Father, I come to you now with a quiet heart, seeking your presence. Thank you for the gift of this new day and for the privilege to sit with your Word. Open my eyes to see truth, open my ears to hear your voice, and open my heart to receive what you desire to teach me. Cleanse me from distractions, forgive me where I’ve wandered, and draw me near by your Spirit. May this time with you shape my thoughts, renew my heart, and deepen my love for you.
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 hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:1-4
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
James 4:4-5
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
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?”
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
James 4:4-5
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
To love the world and its values: self-exaltation, pleasure, pride—is to stand in opposition to God. James doesn’t soften the truth: friendship with the world is spiritual adultery. God, however, is not indifferent toward us. He longs for our full devotion because his Spirit lives in us. These verses remind us that following Jesus is not part-time or passive. God calls us to wholehearted faithfulness. The love He gives is exclusive, not because he is controlling, but because he is holy and because he knows that only in him do we find life.
Lord, show me where I am a friend of the world and at odds with you. Pour out your Spirit and meet with me.
Lord God, my heart has too often been drawn to the things of this world—its approval, its pleasures, its pride. Forgive me for loving what you call me to leave behind. Revive me, O God. Set my heart on fire for what is eternal. Make me holy, set apart, and fully yours. Teach me to resist the pull of the world and to walk in the power of your Spirit. Let my life reflect the beauty of Christ, so that I may live for your glory, not my own.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen to 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?
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
James 4:4-5
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I confess that I have allowed the world to pull my heart away from you. I have flirted with its values, trusted in its promises, and forgotten that friendship with the world is enmity with you. Forgive me for my unfaithfulness. Thank you for loving me with such a jealous, holy love. Today I surrender again to you. Make my heart wholly yours. Help me to live in loyalty to you alone, not divided between two kingdoms. I yield my affections, my loyalty, and my life to you.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Corinthians 12…
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
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.