P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We have arrived at the final week of our joint series with churches all across our region,
“As it is in Heaven: Praying the Prayers of Jesus”. We will walk with Jesus as he commands his people to pray for laborers for the harvest.
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
Jesus, as I enter into your presence now I ask that you would help my unbelief. I am like the father of the boy in Mark 9, I believe, but I need your help in my unbelief. You say all things are possible for one who believes and as I enter your presence to pray help me to believe that you are the God who controls all things, knows all things, and in that, you hear your child speak to you at this moment.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 34…
“I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.”
Psalm 34:1-7
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in Matthew 9, where we read:
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”
Matthew 9:35-36
Jesus’s public ministry is in full swing. He is traveling the land teaching, preaching, and healing. Jesus is doing what Jesus does. We get to see a glimpse of the beauty of his heart for humanity. We know his heart from the outset of his birth as the Eternal Son of God took on flesh for the sake of his children, but here in this passage, we see an intimate look at how he felt for the people he came to save. How does Jesus describe all people who do not know him as their Savior? They are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. That fact leads him to compassion. He’s not angry with them. He doesn’t hate them. He has compassion for them because he knows that no matter what their lives look like, they are missing the most important thing in the world. He knows the greatest need for those he interacted with was not physical healing, wealth, status, or reputation. He knows the greatest need of humanity is to be reunited with the Father through the sacrifice and belief in the Son. Jesus’ heart is compassionate towards you today, so rest in that.
Jesus, I ask that you would give me eyes as you had for the people. I ask that would show me what compassion for those who are lost looks like. Fill me with your Spirit to see the crowd and their desperate need for you.
1) Do I agree with Jesus that everyone who does not know him is living lives that are harassed and helpless? Even if their earthly lives are blessed?
2) What is the most compassionate action I can give to the people around me who do not know Jesus?
Lord, I ask that you would visit your people again. I ask that you would pour out your Spirit in a supernatural way for a season of time where your glory would open the eyes of all that see it. Would you do what only you can do? Would you do what you have done before in history? Revive your Church, revive your people, and revive your world.
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…
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”
Matthew 9:35-36
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, I surrender my opinions and judgments of those around me to you. I acknowledge my heart is oftentimes not filled with compassion for the “crowd” around me. Transform my life to see people and their desperate need for you. Let me not be blinded by their status in this world or their lifestyle in this world. Let me see that the only thing that matters, in the end, is what people say about who you are. I yield to the work you have in me and for me today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in
Matthew 11: 28-30 …
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30
Closing Prayer
Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us, for all the pains and insults that you have borne for us. Most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more dearly, day by day.
Amen
St. Richard, Bishop of Chichester
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.