P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Continuing the theme of Jesus coming to seek and save the lost we look at maybe the most famous parable he ever told. In our Bibles, the heading is the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but I think it is better described as the Parable of the Two Sons.
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, this Advent season would you give me a longing for you? Give me a longing to see you for who you are. Spare me from the distractions and busyness that hide your face from me. Allow me as I enter into your presence to be filled with your joy and peace as I seek you at this moment. Holy Spirit open my eyes to what you have for me today.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 92:
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.“
Psalm 92: 12 -15
Today we are reflecting on the words of Jesus in Luke 15, where we read:
“And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”
Luke 15: 11 – 32
Two sons with entirely different stories, but both sons are lost living in broken relationships with their father. One son is the picture of a prodigal. He wants his money and he wants it now. He disrespects his father by killing him in his heart before his physical death. He wants his inheritance more than he wants his father. In a wild scenario, the father obliges and gives him the money. The son runs off chasing after everything under the sun and the pleasures that briefly satisfy. He finds himself broken and in a place where even the shame of working for his father as a servant is his best option. He’s scared and nervous as he rehearses his apology and it’s a good one. As he arrives at his father’s house he doesn’t find an angry father, but one who runs to him with arms wide open. Not just accepting him as a servant, but embracing him as his son and celebrating his return with a lavish party. The son that was lost is found in the father’s love and arms once again never to leave. We read often times believe he is the only lost son, but he’s not. The elder brother shows us by his response how broken and lost he is as well. A son who has done everything right on the outside, but with a heart that is filled with anger and hate. A heart that is working to earn his father’s love and not realizing the father loves him purely because he is his son. The truth is at different times in life we are both the prodigal son and the elder brother. We are missing out on the lavish love of a father. It plays out differently, but we miss that there is a God who loves us purely because he chose us and made us a part of his family. A love we can’t earn and a grace we can never out sin. Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. He came to seek and save us.
Jesus, show me where my relationship with you is broken in some way. Open my eyes to the love that you give me that is unlike anything else in this world.
1) Where do I live life like the prodigal son?
2) Where do I live life like the elder brother?
3) Do I see Jesus as the running father no matter where I am at in life?
Lord, I come to you lost in need of a Savior. Revive my heart and reorder what I love in this life so that you are number one. I ask that you would revive those who are lost in my family, in my workplace, in my city, and in this nation. Would you pour out your Spirit in a supernatural way in this Advent season so that your glory would draw people to yourself?
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 he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”
Luke 15: 11 – 32
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I surrender to your love today. A love that I run from and a love that I try to earn. Open my eyes to the truth of your love. I don’t have to earn it and I can never outrun it. You shed your blood for a broken and messy me, yet you run to me with your arms open wide accepting me into your family again. Let me experience that love today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Deuteronomy 32:10:
“He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.”
Deuteronomy 32:10
Closing Prayer
We turn to you, Lord God, Father Almighty. And with pure hearts, we offer to you our best and truest thanks, as much as we can in our weakness.
With all of our hearts, we pray for your exceeding kindness. In your good pleasure, stoop down to hear our prayers, and drive out the enemy from our thoughts and actions.
Increase our faith, guide our understanding, give us kingdom thoughts, and lead us to your spiritual joy through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Augustine of Hippo
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.