P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
The supernatural community created by the Holy Spirit is devoted to the apostles’ teaching.
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
Lover of my soul, all my words fall short and I have nothing new. How could I express all my gratitude? I, therefore, command my soul to get up and praise the Lord. As I throw up my hands and give you my praise, I find joy in the pain and a peace that passes all my understanding.
– Tina Rosewell (based on “Gratitude” by Brandon Lake and God’s Word)
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 91:
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Psalm 91:3-6
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Acts 2, where we read:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
The supernatural community created by the Holy Spirit was devoted to the apostles’ teaching. After coming to faith what is the first thing these new believers poured their lives into? Learning about all things concerning God and faith from the apostles’ teachings. So what did those teachings consist of? We got a glimpse of it in Peter’s sermon right before this passage. There were no epistles being circulated yet. The gospels were not written down. So you can imagine that the apostles taught from the Old Testament, the teachings of Jesus that they heard, the Sermon on the Mount, and the intimate teachings that Jesus gave them in the Upper Room before he went to the cross. Under the reign of the Holy Spirit, these new believers were hungry for the Word of God to be taught to them. Where the Spirit reigns, a love of the Word of God reigns. They had a deep desire to hear about God and from God through the teachings of the apostles. This was not a movement built off of experience alone, but one where the experience of the Holy Spirit and the illumination of the Spirit through teaching came together in a supernatural way.
Jesus, give me a devotion like the early church had to your Word. Show me what it looks like to continually devote myself to the teaching that you have given to me. Fill me with your Spirit and a passion to know you more through your Word.
1)What does it look like in my opinion to be devoted to the Scriptures?
2)Why did the early church see being devoted to the Scriptures as of first importance?
3)Would I describe my life as being devoted to the Scriptures? Would others see my life as being devoted to the Scriptures?
4)What needs to change in my life in order for me to be devoted to the Scriptures? New habits? A new rhythm? What needs to be taken off the schedule for it to happen?
Lord, would you send your Spirit again? We desire to see you move just like how you did through the early church in the Book of Acts. Wake your sleeping Church and give us your Spirit that is devoted to you alone. May we be able to say that you have added to our number day by day those who are being saved? Let your power rest on us.
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 they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield to your Word and give my life in obedience to it. Would I wrestle and lean into the difficult passages that just don’t make sense to me? Would I obey the commands? Would I sing your praises straight from your Word? Would I lament like the Psalmist? All in all, would you give me a passion and a devotion to your Word? Pour out your Spirit on your Church as you make us people of the Book.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 1 John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7
Closing Prayer
Lord, there is no one else and nothing else, that gives me that deep bubbling joy, that takes me unaware. I desire to sit here with you longer and my soul clamors for more time with you. And yet, I know I must move! One thing I desire is that I take you with me, everywhere I go, spreading your fragrance to those you would have me meet.
– Tina Rosewell
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.