P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We begin a new series today as part of Church United entitled “Love Like Jesus”. We are joining alongside hundreds of churches in South Florida who will be doing the exact same series.
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, as I come before You now, I quiet my heart and open my mind to your presence. Your Word is living and active—let it speak deeply to my soul. Remove every distraction, soften my heart, and make me receptive to your truth. Teach me, correct me, and draw me closer to you. May this time in Scripture and prayer not only inform my mind but transform my life. I come to you in humility and expectation, ready to hear and obey.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 36…
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
Psalm 36:5-6
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:11-18
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 this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:11-18
We are called to love one another. John contrasts Cain’s hatred with Christ’s sacrificial love, reminding us that true love isn’t proven by words or feelings alone, but by action and truth. To love as Jesus loved means to give of ourselves — our time, compassion, and even comfort — for the good of others. When we withhold love, we close our hearts and distance ourselves from the very life of God. But when we love in deed and truth, we make visible the invisible heart of Christ. This love is not optional for believers; it is the distinguishing mark of those who have passed from death to life.
Lord, I ask that you show me your love for me. Let me see what you have done on my behalf, and let me do that for others.
Lord, revive our hearts to love like you. Revive our eyes to see people like you see them. Revive our minds to think of your children like you do. I thank you for your 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 this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:11-18
Yielding Prayer
Lord Jesus, you showed me the fullest expression of love by laying down your life. I confess that I often speak of love more easily than I live it. Teach me to love in truth and action, not just in words. Soften my heart toward those I find difficult to love, and help me to see them as you do. Let my life reflect your compassion — generous, patient, and sacrificial. Today I yield my pride, my comfort, and my excuses to you. Fill me with your Spirit, that I may walk in love and reveal your heart to the world.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Lamentations 3…
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
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