P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
In this second week of our 3 week series entitled “The Cry for Revival: Praying for God’s Presence,” we will be exploring what scripture says about the concept of personal revival and experiencing God’s presence in our own lives.
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
When I come to you and your word, Lord, I come (albeit subconsciously) with preconceived thoughts and notions about who you are and how you feel about me that are also, perhaps, shaped by my experiences. I don’t want any of those things to change or affect the way I hear or receive your truth today. So, please help me this day to both see and then set those things aside so that I can hear you more accurately and clearly. And help me to believe everything I hear and every word I read in your scriptures and to trust that you will meet with me here and transform my heart as I seek to align it with yours.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the blessings of God’s presence that we are shown in Psalm 16…
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 16:7-11
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:7-11
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?”
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:7-11
As we consider what personal revival might look like in our lives, these verses have much to tell us! In short, God’s presence flowing in and through us, produces a life full of answered prayer, fruit, love and joy!
What was your first thought as you read this amazing prayer promise of Jesus that we can ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us? That verse alone would be inspiring, but this is not the only promise of answered prayer that Jesus gives us in the gospels (See Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14 for 2 more). In fact, Jesus seems determined to awaken within us the confident expectation that God will answer our prayers!
So then, why do we see so many unanswered prayers? Because, as we see in this verse and others, answered prayer depends on certain conditions. In these verses, the condition is the abiding of the follower: “if you abide in me and my words abide in you,” then you can ask. We are also told how to abide in his love: by keeping his commandments. And we are told this so that our joy may be full!
Throughout scripture, in the life of every saint, God has proven himself to be a prayer-hearing God. If God has given us these great promises, let us consider that the problem might not be with him, but with us. Can we lay aside our unbelief that our prayers, especially our very great ones (like our prayers for revival), will not be answered, and instead, seek to align ourselves with the conditions he has given?
This week, we will explore some of the things that hinder our prayers, and the fullness of God in us! Let us trust that God desires his children to step fully into the joy and power of these promises and bring his gifts and presence to all around us!
Lord, please help me to clearly see my past attitudes and beliefs regarding these prayer promises, and change my perspective if need be!
My God and Father, I understand that you meant prayer to be the great power by which your church should do its work. It is when we ask, not only for ourselves but also for others, that you answer and heavenly blessings are brought to earth. What a wonderful privilege it is to partner with you to have your kingdom come! So today, I ask that you would bring revival, first into my heart, as I seek to align myself rightly with you, and then into my home, neighborhood, workplace and the world!
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?
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:7-11
Yielding Prayer
Lord, the more I abide in you and your word abides in me, the more alignment there is between my requests and your answers. Forgive me for any way that I am failing to abide in you and for any way that I am ignoring your word. Help me to chase after you, to abide in you, and to surrender to the wisdom, life and power of your word, so that I can experience the full measure of what is promised in this passage!
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.