P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We continue this Advent meditating on the invitation that God is giving to us to surrender to his love. Will we surrender?
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, would you be my Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace today? Let me experience your love through your Word and prayer today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Isaiah 43…
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43:1-3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
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 you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
The beauty of the gospel is the honesty with which we can talk about ourselves. None of us would want to be identified as dead in our transgressions or as following the prince of the power of the air. In truth, though, whether we want to think about it or not, we were. It is in that state that God acted on our behalf. What caused God to act? It wasn’t that we changed, it was his great love in which he loved us. The nature and character of God is love and we are the recipients of that love.
Lord, I ask to experience your mercy and the great love in which you love me. Fill me with your Spirit and show me what it means to be alive together with Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, as we enter this season of Advent, we remember the hope you brought to the world through the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ. Stir our hearts with the same anticipation that awaited his coming, and awaken in us a deeper hunger for your presence. Revive us, O Lord, that we may shine your light in the darkness. As we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christ’s birth, renew our faith, restore our joy, and draw us closer to you. Let this season be a time of spiritual renewal, where we reflect your love to those around us. Come, Lord Jesus, and reign in our hearts anew. May the hope, peace, joy, and love of Advent transform us and lead us to walk in your ways.
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 you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
Yielding Prayer
Lord, your love is the greatest thing I could ever experience. When there are so many opinions including my own about me that are critical, I ask that you remind my heart that you are the God of mercy and great love. Fill me with your Spirit today so that I can live in that kind of love. Free me from all opinions that don’t match that.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 1…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
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.