P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We continue our series Pictures of God. This week, we see how God reveals himself in the pictures of seals and guarantees.
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, as I come into this time with you, show me who you are and show me who I am. Let me see that you are God and I am not. Let me see your faithfulness towards me in all seasons. Draw me close to you now.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 136…
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
Psalm 136:1-3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14
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?”
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14
On this earth, we live in the already, but not yet. This middle place is sometimes difficult. We have been forgiven, and our sins have been washed away, yet all of the promises of God to us have not been realized. Ephesians One paints this beautiful hope that we have in the Holy Spirit. Our lives have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. Think of how wild it is that one part of the triune God is given to us as a seal! On the days that it is hard to hold onto hope, call on the Holy Spirit to remind you of the great inheritance that is yet to come.
Lord, seal in me by the power of your Holy Spirit the future inheritance that is to come. I ask that you give me eyes to see and a hope to cling to.
Come Holy Spirit. Come into my heart now. Fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Fill me with faith and hope in God. Pour out your power on me today.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen for 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?
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14
Yielding Prayer
Lord, show me that you have chosen me. Before the foundations of this earth, you made me yours. You laid down your life so that I could have life. In obedience, I cling to the future that is to come. In this life, there is trouble, but you have overcome the world.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 14…
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 14:25-27
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.