P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week seeing how to wait well as we wait for the deliverance of God.
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 let me feel the gravity of both your holiness and your mercy. That you are the King of Kings, yet as your child, you invite me into your throne room. I ask that you would meet me and care for me during this time
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 34:1-2:
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 34:1-2
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Acts 16:25-40, where we read:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Acts 16:25-40
Remember that the Holy Spirit comes in response to prayer. What are Paul and Silas doing right before the miraculous earthquake that opened the doors? They were praying and singing hymns to God. Imagine that. As I finished verse 24 where Paul and Silas’ feet were being fastened into the stocks I was not expecting verse 25 to say what it does. In the midst of an extreme amount of suffering and persecution Paul and Silas turn to prayer and singing as they wait for the Lord’s deliverance. That is as convicting as it is encouraging. Their posture as they waited for deliverance is worship. They are not angry. No complaints come out of their mouths. There is no bargaining with God. In the waiting, they are praying and worship. We are all in some season of waiting for deliverance from the Lord in some way. For some, it may be deliverance from a cancer that is metastasizing in your body. For some, it may be deliverance from an addiction that just won’t go away. For some, it may be the deliverance of a broken marriage that seems irreconcilable unless the Spirit moves. Maybe you are waiting on the Lord to deliver your children out of the kingdom of darkness and into the family of God. Paul and Silas teach us today that in the waiting our posture matters and in our waiting God sees and hears us!
Lord, you are so worthy of praise. I could never exhaust your glory and the honor you deserve. I ask that you would turn my heart to a posture of prayer and worship in the season that I am in. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can fix my eyes on a God who is not just powerful, but a God who cares about his children.
1)Where am I waiting for the Lord’s deliverance?
2)What does it look like for me to wait on the Lord in a posture of praise and worship?
Lord, I want to see revival in this world, in my country, in my city, and in my home. Begin that revival with me. Wake me in the places I have fallen asleep. Clear out the cobwebs of my soul. Break me of the mute idols that I cling to. Set me ablaze and let that fire spread for your glory and your glory alone.
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.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Acts 16:25-40
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me obedience during the dark nights of my life as I wait for you to move. When situations come in my life that are terrible and I want to turn to despair would you fill me with your Spirit that brings a peace beyond all understanding? Transform my heart so that my only reaction in this life is one of prayer and worship. I ask that you would meet me in this moment of waiting. Fill me and pour out your mercy upon me.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 32:7:
ou are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
Psalm 32:7
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.