P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
This Sunday, we will light the Bethlehem candle as we continue our Advent journey.
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
Jesus, you are the Savior who entered time and space to raise your people from the dead. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and open my eyes to the power of your Word. Speak and transform my heart today as I meet with you.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 96…
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
Psalm 96:7-9
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
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?”
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
It is absolutely incredible the sovereignty of God in this story. Micah 5:2 says the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, yet Mary, the chosen mother of Jesus, does not live there. What brings them to Bethlehem when she is due to have Jesus? The Roman Emperor’s decree. God uses Caesar Augustus to accomplish what he needed. How astounding to serve a God who is in control of all things.
Lord, open up my eyes to your sovereignty today. Show me that you are in control of everything, including all my things.
Lord Jesus, in this Advent season of longing and light, awaken our hearts again. Stir in us a holy hunger for your presence. Revive what has grown weary, rekindle what has grown dim, and breathe new life into every place that has settled for less than your fullness. As we wait for your coming, come now into our homes, our churches, our city, and our own hearts. Make room in us for your Spirit to move in power. Let your hope rise, your joy break in, your peace settle over us, and your love shine through us like a new dawn. Revive us, O Lord. We are waiting for you.
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?
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are God over all things. Forgive me for when I doubt that in my life. Fill me with your Spirit and let me trust in you today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 16…
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
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