P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We come to Saul’s burial today and the end of his chapter.
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 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
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
1 Samuel 31:13
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:28-29
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 they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
1 Samuel 31:13
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:28-29
1 Samuel 31 ends with burial, grief, and fasting. Saul’s chapter closes, but God’s covenant purposes continue. Some endings feel heavy because we cannot yet see what God is preparing next. God is never trapped inside the finality we feel.
Lord, give me a trust that longs to see what you are doing. Let me see the only true ending in my life is my eternity with you.
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 they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
1 Samuel 31:13
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:28-29
Yielding Prayer
Lord, where I feel the weight of endings, help me trust your continuing work. Give me peace where I cannot yet see what comes next. Anchor me in your faithfulness.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 9…
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10
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