P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Every child needs to be given hope.
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 117…
Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117:1-2
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
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?”
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
One of the greatest tools we have on this earth is hope given to us by God! That is something we need to pass on. We have the ability to tell our children that there is a God who loves them and has a perfect plan for them in this life. Our future and hope are secure because it is in Jesus.
Lord, I ask that you fill me with hope today that is able to be passed down to the next generation.
Join us for Pray First, set your heart on God this week, asking Him to awaken a deeper longing for His presence.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:8, 10
Have your circumstances caused you to forget that the Lord is your ultimate protector and provider? If so, ask Him to reveal the “good things” He has done for you.
Pray: Our Father, as we, at Rio, re-engage this fall, would you give us a hunger to “taste and see” your goodness in a fresh and experiential way. Meet us with Your power and love!
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?
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield to your plan for my life. There are times when it doesn’t make sense with the information I have, but in obedience, I trust you. I love you and thank you for being faithful to me always.
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.