P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
The men of Jabesh-gilead making a daring move to rescue Saul’s body.
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, there is no waste in my time with you. As I enter into your presence, fill me with the joy of my salvation all over again. Remind me that I have a Father who loves me and has a plan for me.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Galatians 6…
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up
Galatians 6:9
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
1 Samuel 31:8-12
With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
Psalm 18:25-27
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?”
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
1 Samuel 31:8-12
With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
Psalm 18:25-27
The men of Jabesh-gilead quietly risk themselves to honor Saul’s body. It is a deeply faithful act in a painful moment. They risked everything to get his body back. In the midst of sorrow sometimes all you can do is the next obedient thing.
Lord, give me faith to do the next obedient thing in my life. Give me faith to see in the midst of the sorrows of this life that you are moving.
Revive us, oh Lord! Meet with a broken humanity who is returning to the dust. Save us from ourselves and from the Enemy who seeks our destruction. Bring many to faith and deliverance in you. You are the God who saves, and that is what we desire to see.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen to 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?
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
1 Samuel 31:8-12
With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
Psalm 18:25-27
Yielding Prayer
Lord, help me remain faithful when circumstances feel heavy. Give me grace for quiet obedience. Let my character remain steady even when emotions fluctuate. Lord, when I cannot see clearly, help me trust deeply. Teach me not to interpret your silence as absence. Strengthen my faith to believe that you are still working.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 18…
With the merciful you show yourself merciful
Psalm 18:25
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