P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We will see today that the disciples devoted themselves to prayer as they waited for the Holy Spirit.
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
Abba, Father as you welcome me into this time with you, accept my praise and adoration as a love offering. Fine-tune my hearing by the power of your Spirit that I might hear what you have to say to me. Still, my voice so that I may give you room to share what is on your heart for me, and fill my heart with the joy that comes from being so close to you.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 25:
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Psalm 25:4-7
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Acts 1, where we read:
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Acts 1:12-14
Waiting on the promises of God can be difficult. It is easy for trust and expectancy to diminish as time goes on and the promise remains unrealized. The disciples at this moment show us what it looks like to wait well. While they were waiting for the Holy Spirit to come they devoted themselves to prayer. You can imagine what those prayers might have been filled with. Prayers of hope and expectancy. Prayers of trust and wonder. Prayers that were committed to not stop until the promise has been realized. Something that we can learn from and run to in our lives today.
Lord, make me a person that prays. That doesn’t just wait passively, but actively brings the promises you have given me back to you. Make my heart one of expectancy to the power that you have for me.
1)What promise of God am I waiting on right now?
2)Am I expectantly praying that it would be realized?
3)What would it look like to devote myself to prayer?
We join with the Sons of Korah praying a prayer of revival from Psalm 85:
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation
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.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Acts 1:12-14
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are a God of promises. You are so gracious and good to me that you delight to see your promises fulfilled in my life. You are never changing and can be trusted even when my faith in you falters. Give me a passion to devote my life to prayer. Pour out your Spirit on me as I seek your face in consistent and expectant prayer for all that I want to see come to fruition in this world. Don’t let me stop when doubt and fear trickle into my mind. You are the God who hears, so hear me now.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Acts 1:8:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth
Acts 1:8
Closing Prayer
Lord, the full meaning of the word “Abba” is “Father, I will obey you” and that is what I desire to do as I go about my day now. Fill me with your Spirit that I may receive and use the gifts that you have made available to me. Grant me opportunities this day to glorify your Son by my obedience to your commands. And let me see some fruit today to encourage my faith and diminish my unbelief.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.