P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We remind ourselves today of the new reality we have in Jesus.
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
King Jesus, you are the Lord and Author of all life, including mine. I bow before your throne today. You are God and I am not. I desire to meet and experience all you have for me at this time.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 134…
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 134:1-3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:17-22
As I reread the passage, I reflect on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:17-22
How beautiful a message of peace is in our crazy world. That is who Jesus is. He takes strangers and aliens and he transforms us into fellow citizens and members of the household of God. We in 2024 continue to build on the foundation that Jesus and the Apostles laid for us. We get to be a part of the mission of God. What a reminder that we are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit. Our God desires to be with us and he makes a way for us.
Lord, I ask that you show me what it looks like to build on the foundation that is before me. Show me what a message of peace looks like.
Heavenly Father, we come before you, seeking revival for our nation. Restore our hearts, turning us back to your ways. Pour out your Spirit across America, igniting faith, hope, and love in every corner. Heal our divisions, renew our minds, and guide our leaders with wisdom and humility. May your truth and grace sweep through this land, transforming lives and drawing us closer to You.
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?
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:17-22
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I cannot get over the fact that you want to dwell with me and your people. That by the power of the Spirit I will become suitable to be the dwelling place of God. Let me live this life of obedience out of that truth today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8…
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
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.