P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We continue in our series “What Every Family Needs”. This week we look at what every child needs. We begin though with the truth that when we come to faith in Jesus we become his children.
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
Gracious Father, I come before you with a heart that longs to hear your voice. I lay aside the burdens and distractions of this day, asking you to quiet my spirit and open my eyes to your truth. Speak to me through your Word and let the Holy Spirit guide me in this time. I draw near to you trusting that you are drawing near to me. I ask that you would meet with me in this time.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 7…
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Psalm 7:17
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3
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?”
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3
Parenting is hard and stressful! There are a thousand opinions out there to chase after. There is the opportunity for shame to enter in at every turn. So we begin with the reminder that in Jesus we become children of God. Our core identity is not as a parent, but as a child of the Most High. We have a good Father who loves us. At the end of the day, we need to rest in that truth.
Lord, I ask that before anything else, remind me of who I am in you. Remind me that I am your child and you love me.
Join us for Pray First, set your heart on God this week, asking Him to awaken a deeper longing for His presence.
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'” John 6:35
Blaise Pascal famously wrote, “There is a ‘God-shaped vacuum’ in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God.” This emptiness can manifest as a sense of dissatisfaction, restlessness, or a longing for more.
Prayer: Lord, as I reflect on this, I ask You to reveal any emptiness in my heart. Show me the specific ways I’m trying to fill it with things You didn’t create for that purpose. Help me to truly believe that You alone are the source of complete and lasting sustenance.
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?
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3
Yielding Prayer
Lord, in you place all of my hope and trust. Forgive me for forgetting that first and foremost, I am your child whom you love. Let me experience your fatherly love as I go about my day. I seek you in everything I do today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 49…
Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
Isaiah 49:14-15
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.