P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
John commands us to test the Spirits and he tells us how in today’s passage out of 1 John.
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
Father God,
As I enter into your presence I ask that you meet with me here. I call upon the Words that you gave your people in Jeremiah 32. I ask that I would be a member of your people and that you would be my God. That you would give me a heart that will fear you forever. Remember your everlasting covenant to me now and do not turn away from doing good to me. Give me a heart that fears you and does not let me turn from you. Show me your kindness today. Amen.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 111…
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
Psalm 111:7-8
Today we are reflecting on the words of John in 1 John 4:1-3, where we read:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
1 John 4:1-3
In a world with so much information Christians need to be able to discern what is true and what is false. John says there are many false spirits in this world. Whether those are the many false teachings coming from the antichrists or whether that is the evil one who seeks our destruction. Either way, there are false spirits out there and Christians need to know how to find the truth. On the other hand, there is only one Spirit of God whom all truth stems from. John’s test is simple in the passage, but complex in our world. We are to put every teaching, every belief, and every opinion up against the truth that Jesus Christ has come from God in the flesh.
There are two practical applications that come from this text. The first is that we need the Holy Spirit to help us. We need the Spirit to actively be living in us to give us discernment. Secondly, we need to know the Bible and take all of our thoughts, opinions, and teachings to the Word of God. If we find it there we know that it is from God and it can be trusted.
Jesus, I ask that you would give me the desire to test every spirit big and small in my life. Reveal to me where I have become passive in my life in regard to truth. Give me your Spirit to fill me with the discernment I need in this complex world that seeks to lead me astray. Let my heart cling to the truth that you are God in the flesh and you came to save.
Reflection Questions:
1) Do I test every spirit and teaching in my life?
2) Do I know the Bible well enough to test the beliefs of this culture?
3) What opinions am I holding onto that I can’t find biblical evidence for?
Lord,
Today I pray the prayer that Ezekiel prayed over the dry bones in the valley. I pray it over the dry bones of our nation. I ask and plead with you as I pray:
O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)
Revive us, Lord.
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…
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
1 John 4:1-3
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield to your truth today. I surrender all my beliefs and I lay them on the table. Purify the truth that I hold onto. Destroy every belief and opinion that I hold that does not come from your Word. Teach me to test all knowledge that I hold. I humble myself knowing that I may have an opinion on everything under the sun, but I am not God and cannot know it all. Let me trust your Word today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Timothy 3:16-17…
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Closing Prayer
Lord,
Thank you for meeting with me in this time. As I go from here fill me with your Spirit. Do not let me forget who you are or who I am in light of that. Make me your ambassador to my family, friends, and in my workplace. Pour out your love and mercy on me as I pour it out on all those that I will come into contact with this day. Let those around me see you as I live for you. Amen.