P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Jonah is not excited about what God has done.
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 enter into your presence under the covering of your Son’s blood. He was pierced for my transgressions, and the punishment that was laid on him bought me freedom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, and let me experience that freedom today. I lay down my pride, anxieties, and fears, knowing that you are the God who loves and cares about me.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 103…
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
Psalm 103:13-18
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah 4:1-4
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?”
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah 4:1-4
Jonah is wildly angry about what God has done. He knows the heart of God is gracious and merciful. He knows that God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He knows that God relents from disaster and he is okay with it except when it comes to the Assyrians. For Jonah all of the qualities of God are great except if God shows them to people he believes don’t deserve them. This is not a Jonah thing, but a sinful humanity thing. It is easy for all of us to have a breaking point where we don’t think God should go after anybody past it. We love God’s mercy except when he is merciful to our “enemies” or those who we think are undeserving. We miss the whole point of the gospel at times!
Lord, I ask that you work on my heart today. As I read the passage I am hoping that there is nothing in my heart like Jonah’s, but I know there is. Root out the evil in my heart and transform me.
Heavenly Father, we come before you, seeking revival for our nation. Restore our hearts, turning us back to your ways. Pour out your Spirit across America, igniting faith, hope, and love in every corner. Heal our divisions, renew our minds, and guide our leaders with wisdom and humility. May your truth and grace sweep through this land, transforming lives and drawing us closer to You.
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?
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah 4:1-4
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I am a sinner in need of grace. This passage shows me I can go through the motions and still have a heart that has hate in it. Root out my wicked ways and lead me in the path of righteousness. Fill me with your Spirit and convict my heart and transform me today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Luke 19…
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10
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.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.