P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week reminding ourselves that God has given us a brain and he expects us to use it when it comes to discernment.
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 enter into your presence let me experience your steadfast love that never ceases. Pour out your mercies that are never-ending and new every morning upon my heart. Great is your faithfulness and therefore my hope is in you today.*
*Adapted from Lamentations 3:22-24
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 134:
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the Lord!
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!
Psalm 134:1-3
As I read the passage, I am asking the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to me.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Psalm 119:66
Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.
Ezra 7:18
And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.”
Joshua 9:25
Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you;
1 Samuel 1:23
And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us.
1 Chronicles 13:2
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 20:16
As I reread the passage, I am reflecting on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Psalm 119:66
Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.
Ezra 7:18
And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.”
Joshua 9:25
Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you;
1 Samuel 1:23
And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us.
1 Chronicles 13:2
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 20:16
This week we have looked at the truth that God guides us and gives us discernment through his Word, through the desires of our hearts, through the wise counsel of others, and through our circumstances. It is possible for us to arrive at situations where we have prayed, read God’s Word, sought counsel, and still not be sure about what to do. It is at that moment that we have to rely on what we believe would be acting in sound judgment. God created us and gave us each a brain and he expects us to put it to good use. It would make sense that if God has given us the tool of judgment it would be part of his program of discernment. Oftentimes the choice that makes sense is the choice that God would have us make. We saw that in the Scriptures we read today people making decisions based on what they believed the right idea was.
Lord, I praise you for the way you have created me and given me agency in my own life. I ask that you would fill me with wisdom and sound judgment as I make decisions in this life.
Lord, as I look at the world around me my soul can easily fall into despair. In a world full of brokenness and sin, I ask where does my help come from? You hear me and you remind me that my help comes from you the maker of heaven and earth. I ask that you would pour out your Spirit upon this world. Bring a supernatural revival that this world is desperate for that only you can bring. Show us your glory that we may praise you forevermore.
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?
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
Psalm 119:66
Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God.
Ezra 7:18
And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.”
Joshua 9:25
Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you;
1 Samuel 1:23
And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us.
1 Chronicles 13:2
For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Acts 20:16
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I thank you that you are the God who created me and gives me the ability to have sound judgment. I ask that you would show me now what you are putting on my heart to do. Fill me with your wisdom and let me act according to your heart today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 55:8-9:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
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.