P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Jesus turns our eyes to what it looks like to receive forgiveness and to give forgiveness as we pray.
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 through prayer would you open my eyes to see you? Open my eyes to the glory of who you are. Open my eyes and let my heart follow. Show me who you are and let everything else fall away during this time in your presence.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 33…
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Psalm 33:10-17
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, where we read:
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12
Jesus teaches us that in prayer is where we find forgiveness. That we come to him and we can confidently bring our faults, mess-ups, and sins because he is the place where we find forgiveness. Jesus Christ died so that we can receive his forgiveness. We can be honest with him about who we are. Jesus also teaches us that because we are forgiven people, we are called to forgive others. We need his power and his spirit to transform us to forgive all who have wronged us. So we ask for his help!
Jesus, I ask that you would reveal to me the sin in my life. That you would fill me with courage and honesty to lay it all down before. Teach my heart that you died to cover my debt, so I can bring it to you and receive your forgiveness. I ask that you show me where I am not forgiving as you have forgiven me.
Reflection Questions:
1) What do I need to confess to Jesus and receive his forgiveness?
2) Where do I need to forgive as he has forgiven me?
Jesus, I ask that you would teach your Church in South Florida to pray. Fill us with your Spirit that draws us to our knees in prayer. Release us from the bondage of control and revive our hearts. Make your Church desperate for a move that only you can bring. Unite us as we pray.
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 forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, I cannot save myself no matter how much I want to or try to. I confess to you all the sins that I have committed today. I receive your forgiveness because you died to pay my debt. Lord, there are people I do not want to forgive today. I ask that you would fill me with your power to give forgiveness as worship to you today. I forgive those who do not deserve it because you forgave me when I didn’t deserve it.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 1 John 1:9…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Closing Prayer
I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. Amen.1
1John Wesley