P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Jesus ends this section with the truth that disciples of Jesus trust in the power of 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
Lord, as I approach your throne today fill me with your Holy Spirit and remind me that I am a beloved child of yours. I come knowing that you give good gifts to your children because you love us. Meet with me in this time.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the faithfulness of God displayed in Isaiah 41:
But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:8-10
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Luke 12:11-12
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:5-12
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?”
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Luke 12:11-12
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:5-12
Jesus knows that if his disciples truly seek to live with integrity, if they really fear God over man, and if they really acknowledge the one true God in front of men then they will face opposition. They will be brought in front of the religious and political leaders of the day, because of the offense of the gospel. What do we do then? We trust in the Spirit. We do not walk this life in our own power, but through the power of the Spirit trusting that he will give us exactly what we need when that time comes.
It doesn’t take long for the disciples after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension to put this into practice. When Peter and John are put in front of the religious leaders because they healed a crippled man what do they do? Peter gives a powerful and courageous talk. Where did that come from? Not from Peter’s own power, but from the power of the Holy Spirit. In that moment Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and then he spoke not from his own power, but from that power. We need to ask for that same power from the Holy Spirit and live and walk in that power and not our own.
Lord, I ask to be filled with the power of your Holy Spirit. I don’t want to do this life on my own, but I want to do it by your power and your power alone.
A.W. Tozer once said, “Our mistake is that we want God to send revival on our terms. We want to get the power of God into our hands, to call it to us that it may work for us in promoting and furthering our kind of Christianity. We want to still be in charge shouting “Glory to God,” but modestly accepting a share of the glory for ourselves, calling on God to send fire on our altars, completely ignoring the fact that they are our altars and not God’s.”
Lord, I pray that you break us as people of the inkling we have that any glory should be ours. Show us where we are holding onto our own altars. Fill us with your Spirit so that all we desire is for you to be in charge and have all the glory. Send fire on your altars and not ours. Revive us Lord in a way that only you can do!
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?
And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Luke 12:11-12
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:5-12
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield in obedience to you. You have called me to follow you not just in the easy moments, but in the anxiety-producing moments. Let me find myself faithful and true in that moment by the power of your Holy Spirit. Give me boldness and courage like the disciples had to proclaim your Word even if it costs me everything.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 16:33:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
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.