P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we behold Jesus, the beloved Son, who stands with sinners and fulfills all righteousness.
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 bow down at your feet today. Prepare my heart now as I enter into your Word through the Scriptures and prayer. Meet with me and let me see your beauty, and let that transform me by the power of your Spirit.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in 1 John…
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:11-12
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17
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?”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus comes to be baptized by John, though he has no sin to confess. He does this “to fulfill all righteousness.” At his baptism, the heavens open, the Spirit descends, and the Father declares, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This moment reveals the beauty of Jesus’ mission. He identifies with sinners, obeys the Father perfectly, and is anointed by the Spirit. Our hope rests in the beloved Son who pleased the Father in my place and now brings us into the joy of belonging to God.
Lord, let me look to the Son today. The One who came to fulfill all righteousness on my behalf.
Father, revive our hearts by showing us the glory of your beloved Son. Let us see Jesus more clearly, trust him more deeply, and rejoice more fully in the righteousness he has fulfilled for us.
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?
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17
Yielding Prayer
Father, I yield my striving, fear, and self-justification to you. Thank you that Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. Help me live today from the security of his obedience, the presence of your Spirit, and the love you have shown me in your Son.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8…
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:15-17
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