P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we come before our Father asking him to deepen our hunger for him above comfort, attention, and outward appearance.
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 am reminded today that your steadfast love never ceases. Your mercies never come to an end, and they are new each and every morning. Your faithfulness to your people is great. Meet with me. Speak to me by the power of your Word and your Holy Spirit.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 63…
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:1-4
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
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 you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
Jesus speaks about fasting as a hidden act of devotion before the Father. Fasting can easily become another way to look spiritual, but Jesus calls us away from outward display and into inward surrender. When we fast, we are not trying to prove our devotion to others. We are bringing our desires, appetites, and longings before God, asking him to become our deepest satisfaction. The Father sees the unseen hunger of his children. He knows when we are seeking him sincerely, and he meets us in the secret place with himself as our reward.
Lord, I ask that you teach my heart to desire you above all else.
Father, revive our hunger for you. Awaken in us a deeper desire for your presence, your word, your holiness, and your kingdom.
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 you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18
Yielding Prayer
Father, I yield my appetites and desires to you. Teach me to seek you in secret and to love your presence more than comfort or recognition. Make my heart sincere before you
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Jeremiah 29…
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
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