P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we see what the gifts the Spirit gives are!
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, your word promises that if I draw near to you, you will draw near to me (James 4:8). I believe your word and claim your promise now as I spend this time with you. May your Holy Spirit draw close and fill me anew today in a way that I have not experienced before. Grow your fruit in me today Holy Spirit. Let me hear your voice, that I may receive and act upon the things you give me.
-Mark Rosewell
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 107:
Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Psalm 107:10-16
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in 1 Corinthians 12, where we read:
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
Over the next few weeks we will look at the gifts in more detail individually, but this week is just our introduction to them as a whole. What I hope we are seeing are the general truths about the spiritual gifts. They are gifts. Gifts are received and not taken. The gifts are given by the Holy Spirit when we enter into the family of God. No one is forgotten by God. The gifts are given in the exact way the Holy Spirit desires, not how we desire them to be given. The gifts are given for the common good, not for selfish advancement or self-aggrandizing. The variety of the gifts is beautiful when we are using them in community with others who have different gifts than us. We as God’s people do not live out of our own power, but we live in the power of the Holy Spirit as our Helper.
Jesus, pour out your Spirit on me today. Let my power not be manufactured by my own might, but will I gladly accept and cherish the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in my life.
1)What is my background when it comes to spiritual gifts?
2)Am I coming into this discussion with set beliefs?
3)Am I open to learning and maybe changing those beliefs?
4)Will I pray for the Spirit to show me what he has for me each and every day as I embark on this journey?
Lord, would you humble your people at your feet? Open our eyes and show us that it is in you alone that we find life. This world has nothing for us. Break us of our desire for the mute and lifeless idols of this world. Give us a longing for more. Give us a desire to have whatever it is you want to give us. Pour out your Spirit in a supernatural way during this season of time as we seek your face. To you alone be all glory and honor.
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.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I surrender to what you have for me. I don’t want to live this life in my own power or merit. Pour out your Spirit on me. Give me a heart that desires all you have for me. Give me clarity for what you are saying to me today. Let me walk throughout this day connected and abiding in you.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Ephesians 3:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21
Closing Prayer
Holy Spirit, may I display your fruit today to everyone that I meet. Help me to love more; to radiate joy and peace; to be patient in trying situations; to be kind and good when my natural reaction may be to lash out; as you have been gentle and faithful to me Lord, help me to be so to others today. Grant me the self-control I will need to triumph for your kingdom today, bringing glory to the name of Jesus
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.