P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week being reassured by Jesus that he will provide for our every need.
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
Lord, I come to you in this season of Lent aware of my dust and deeply aware of your mercy; you formed me from the earth, yet you breathe your Spirit into me. I confess that I am weak, distracted, and often self-reliant, but you are faithful, patient, and near. As I enter this time of prayer and Scripture, quiet my restless heart and strip away pride, hurry, and noise; search me and know me, reveal what needs repentance, soften what has grown hard, and heal what has been hidden. Lord Jesus, you walked the wilderness road for me—you fasted, prayed, resisted temptation, and set your face toward the cross—so teach me to follow you not only in comfort but in surrender. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to behold wonderful things in your Word and give me a tender conscience, a listening heart, and a willing spirit. Let this not be routine religion but real communion, not mere information but transformation, and as I wait before you, remind me that grace is greater than my sin, the cross is stronger than my shame, and resurrection hope stands on the other side of repentance. Here I am, Lord—speak, for your servant is listening.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 118…
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34
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?”
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34
In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus speaks directly to the anxiety that fills everyday life—what I will eat, what I will wear, and what tomorrow might bring. He does not shame, worry, or deny real needs. Instead, he gently exposes how anxiety grows when trust shrinks. Worry assumes responsibility for a future God has already promised to hold.
Jesus invites me to look at creation as a teacher. The birds are fed. The flowers are clothed. Neither strives, hoards, nor panics, yet God sustains them. This passage does not call me to passivity, but to reordered loyalty. When I seek God’s kingdom first, my life is anchored in trust rather than fear. Obedience here means releasing my grip on tomorrow and choosing faithfulness today. Trust grows when I believe that God’s care extends beyond the present moment and into the future I cannot see.
Lord, grow my trust and shrink my anxieties! I release my life to you today.
Revive us, oh Lord! Meet with a broken humanity who is returning to the dust. Save us from ourselves and from the Enemy who seeks our destruction. Bring many to faith and deliverance in you. You are the God who saves, and that is what we desire to see.
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?
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-34
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I confess that worry often feels more natural to me than trust. I carry concerns about the future as if everything depends on me. I bring you my anxieties about provision, direction, and what lies ahead. Teach me to seek your kingdom first and to trust that you know what I need before I ask. Help me obey you in the present moment without being consumed by tomorrow. I release my fears, my need for control, and my anxious striving into your care. I choose to trust you one day at a time and to walk in obedience grounded in faith rather than fear.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 1 John 1…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
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