P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Total loss after the death of Saul.
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, there is no waste in my time with you. As I enter into your presence, fill me with the joy of my salvation all over again. Remind me that I have a Father who loves me and has a plan for me.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Romans 8…
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
1 Samuel 31:7
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
Psalm 18:7-9
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?”
And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
1 Samuel 31:7
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
Psalm 18:7-9
The scene in 1 Samuel 31 doesn’t end well. Complete loss after the death of Saul. Yet Psalm 18 describes something deeper than visible events—God moving with power on behalf of his servant.
There are seasons when we may only see loss on the surface, but God is still arranging deliverance beneath what I can see and understand.
Lord, in seasons of despair and difficulty help my unbelief. Pour out your Spirit on me and give me a resilience that trusts you are always on the move.
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?
And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
1 Samuel 31:7
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
Psalm 18:7-9
Yielding Prayer
Lord, when I cannot see clearly, help me trust deeply. Teach me not to interpret your silence as absence. Strengthen my faith to believe that you are still working.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 18…
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19
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