P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
As they return to Bethlehem Naomi is struggling to work through what the Lord has allowed in her life.
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 approach your throne today I remember that you are the God who knew no sin yet you took on flesh and entered into humanity. I approach a God who chose to approach this earth in humility and power. The same heart you had thousands of years ago is the same heart you have for me today. One that desires to be with his people, so meet with me now.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 9:
Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Psalm 9:11-12
As you read the passage, ask the Lord to reveal a word or phrase that stands out to you.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:19-22
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?”
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:19-22
Bethlehem is stirred at the arrival of Naomi back to town and for good reason. She left close to a decade ago as a married woman with two sons. Now she returns from the foreign land as a widow with her widowed, Moabite daughter-in-law by her side. The people are shocked as the story of what has happened spreads through the town. In comparison to the faithfulness of Ruth, it seems that Naomi’s trust in God is wavering. She cannot see that the Lord is working because all she can see is hardship and lacks hope for the future. This is completely understandable. Naomi allows her frustration, her disappointment, and her anger to lead her to a place of bitterness. A bitterness that consumes her. A bitterness that she makes her identity and she blames the Lord.
Lord, I ask that you show me my heart. Show me where I am fueling and storing bitterness in my life. Give me the freedom to find and root out what you have died to redeem.
Lord, we not only long to celebrate your coming in this Advent season, but we long for a supernatural pouring out of the Holy Spirit on this earth right now. You are the God who has done it in the past and we are begging for you to do it again. Advent reminds me that you have not forgotten your people even in the darkness and the silence.
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?
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:19-22
Yielding Prayer
Lord, life is difficult and in a sinful and broken world where calamities happen every day let me find hope in you. When everything around me seems lost let me remember that you are the God who has not forgotten his people. You love me. Let me yield in obedience even when life seems absolutely terrible.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Ruth 4:14-15:
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
Ruth 4:14-15
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.