P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
John is not the picture of style, but he is the picture of humility.
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, I approach your throne today confidently because you are the God who chose to meet with his people. You left heaven and came to earth to make a way for me to enter into this time with you right now. Thank you for what you have done and hear my prayers.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 8:
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Psalm 8:3-4
As you read the passage, ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to you.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
As I reread the passage, I am reflecting on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist is so fascinating because he knows exactly who he is and his place in this world. He was a man out in the wilderness clothed in camel’s hair while he ate locust and wild honey. He wasn’t trying to be something that the culture smiled upon. Not only did he not try to conform to the world at that time, but he knew that he was not the destination for all these people who came to him. Someone after him was coming that is far mightier than he is and he is okay with that. There’s so much power in knowing who we are and what we have been called to do and living in that.
Lord, I ask for a heart of humility today. Give me a heart that cries out that you are mightier than I am.
Lord, you entered into our world once and we know that you are coming again. In the meantime, we are asking that you would send revival to a dying world. Send your Spirit to our nation in a supernatural way for a period of time that many will come to faith in you. Bring many to repentance in this season and draw them into a relationship with 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?
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
Yielding Prayer
Lord, let my life echo what John said. Let me know in my heart and live life by the truth that you are far mightier than I am. Allow my humility to be the sermon of my life.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Luke 19:10:
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10.
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.