P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We rested in the fact that Jesus is always with us yesterday. Today we will see that not only Jesus goes with us, but he has given us the Helper in our lives.
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…
“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34: 15-14
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in John 14, where we read:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”
John 14:15-31
Jesus cares about his people so much that he gives us the Holy Spirit. He gives us the Helper. The Helper may seem like an understated word in our modern world. Help seems menial in our world. The Holy Spirit is far from menial though. The Holy Spirit is powerful and transformational in our lives. The Holy Spirit is who we need in order to live life on mission because we cannot do it out of our own strength. That’s why we feel so burnt out and scared when it comes to sharing the gospel with people because we try to do it all on our own. Jesus knows us and knows we need the Spirit’s power. We need the Spirit of Truth to change us and sanctify us. To give us passion and courage. To do what only he can do. The problem though is not the Holy Spirit’s lack of power, but it is our desire for help. We are blinded by our ego and pride thinking that we can navigate the storms and complexities of this life on our own. We live life in a way that says we don’t need or want the Holy Spirit. Our theology includes the Spirit, but our daily lives lack desperation for the Spirit to move, guide, and help us. So today we are going to ask for the Spirit to do exactly that.
Jesus, I ask that you would show me where I am trying to live life fully on my own. Show me where I am not only not asking for the Spirit’s help, but I am actively avoiding the Spirit’s guidance. Open my eyes to the power that you have for me in the Spirit.
1)Do I believe I need help?
2)Who or what am I going to for help in my life?
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…
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”
John 14:15-31
Yielding Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill me. Help me. Transform me.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 14:27…
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
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.