P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we look at the role repentance plays in our lives.
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, you are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end. You formed me in my mother’s womb. You know every hair on my head. You have ordained the path of my life. With all of that in mind, I approach you at this moment, knowing you not only did all of those things, but in the midst of all of that, you care for me. Let me experience your love and mercy. Speak to me through your Word today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 130…
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
Psalm 130:3-4
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
Acts 3:19
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:1-10
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?”
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
Acts 3:19
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:1-10
The Bible talks a lot about repentance because of how important it is in our lives. As sinful people trying to follow after a Holy God and doing it very imperfectly we need a way to go back to him. Repentance is not just asking for forgiveness. Repentance is bringing our sins to God, asking for forgiveness, and then turning from that sin and running back to God. Repentance is not something to be scared of. Romans talks about it is the Lord’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Repentance is the vehicle to realign our sinful lives with God. Zacchaeus is a great example of what repentance looks like. Zacchaeus is living in sin. He loves money above all else and he sins against God and man in order to get it. He meets Jesus and everything changes. He doesn’t just apologize to people, but he makes it right. His actions show the heart change that he went through.
Lord, convict me now by the power of your Spirit and show me where there is sin in my life. Show me your kindness and let that draw me to repentance today.
Lord, while I was not at the Red Sea with the Israelites, there are moments in life where it feels like my back is up against a Red Sea of my own. At that moment, you call me to trust you. Oftentimes, I am overwhelmed with a spirit of fear. I repent of that spirit of fear, and I turn back to trust in you. I cling to the promise of 2 Timothy 1:7, which reminds me that you have not given me a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. As I empty myself of fear, would you fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me a spirit of power, love, and self-control?
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?
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
Acts 3:19
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:1-10
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are God and I am not. You are perfect and I am sinful. Thank you that Jesus died on the cross for me so that I can have a relationship with you. In obedience I look at my life and if there is anything that is sinful I lay it at your feet. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and let me walk in obedience to you today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Lamentations 3…
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.“
The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
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.