P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we will see that if we ignore the Spirit then all that we hope to do is in vain. The Holy Spirit is offering us so much more in this life!
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
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me now as I seek your face, Lord. Still, my mind and heart as I prepare to meet with the God of my salvation. I invite you to invade my thoughts, Lord, and to fill me with your peace. Finely tune my hearing so that I can hear clearly what you have to say. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus.
-Mark Rosewell
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 104:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 104:31-35
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Psalm 127, where we read:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2
This text is a pretty serious and heavy text when we think about the culture that we are living in. We live in a world that says we can do it all ourselves. That if you can dream it and work hard enough to get it then it can be done. In a world where self-reliance and busyness are hailed as virtues, this Scripture defies those definitions. The Lord is not saying that all we do in this world is meaningless, but he is saying that there is something more out there for us. That if we work and go through the motions not abiding in the Father then all we do is vanity. The beautiful part about this text is that the Lord is offering us something greater than just trying to do it on our own. The Lord has given us the Spirit to move and empower us to act and to build on his behalf. He doesn’t want us to do it all on our own, he has given us the gift of the Spirit. And the question for us is whether we will allow the Spirit to move mightily in our lives.
Lord, I ask that you would show me where I am living this life on my own. Reveal to me where I am acting in my own power, talents, or skills. Send your Spirit on me and empower me to tasks which are not done in vain, because I am doing them with you?
1)Is this verse offensive to me in any way?
2)What is the heart of God for me in these verses?
3)Where in my life am I currently trying to “build the house” myself and not letting the Lord by his power build it?
Lord, we ask that you would pour out your Spirit on your people in a supernatural way for this season of time. As we seek your face would you give us your Holy Spirit to empower, purify, reveal, and unify your people? We are expectant for a movement of your Spirit in our world!
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word.
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I don’t want to build the house on my own anymore. I don’t want to build up my little kingdom that in the end is not everlasting. Change my heart that if I want to accomplish anything I need to do it with you. Break me of my pride and ego that says I can do it on my own. Show me even the areas of my life that I think I can that walking and building with you is far greater than I could ever dream of. I surrender this life you have given me at your feet.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
John 14:16
Closing Prayer
Lord, thank you for choosing me to be your messenger today. I am willing, Lord. Send me out from here to speak the good news of Jesus with boldness and clarity. Equip me with your Spirit and pave the way before me. Prepare the hearts of anyone I will come into contact with today. That they may see Jesus, not me, and be transformed by Him.
-Mark Rosewell
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.