P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We go to the gospel of John today to remind ourselves of who Jesus is as he enters Jerusalem.
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 remind me that you are the King of Kings who came to meet his people on this earth. You are the God who desires to have a relationship with us. At this time meet with me afresh again.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 20:
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 20:6-8
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
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?”
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
It is easy for me personally to forget the gravity of what God did through Jesus. The opening verses of John always bring me back to how astounding it is that Jesus came in the flesh. Hear the beauty of who Jesus is. Jesus is the Word of God. He was a the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him not any thing was made. He is life and light. He is the light that drives out the darkness. It is Jesus who took on flesh to meet with us. It is that Jesus who willingly goes to the cross and takes on my darkness so that I can have light and life.
Jesus, I ask that you remind me who you are today. Let me see your beauty and glory.
Lord, revive the fire inside of me. Fill me with your Spirit in a way that is contagious to those around me. Meet your people in a supernatural way again. Bring light into the darkness of this world. Make your glory known in this 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?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, you ar so beautiful. Forgive me for all the ways I take that for granted. Remind me now of the lengths you went through to have a relationship with me. Fill me with you Spirit so I can see your sacrifice as I am heading into Holy Week.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Galatians 2:
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:19-20
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.