P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Samson’s story is a real roller coaster.
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 you today, I remind myself of who you are. You are the God who created all things and desire all of the glory. You are a God who is perfectly holy and set apart, and yet you choose to reside with your children. So I ask and expect that you will do that now during this time in your Word and prayer.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in 1 Corinthians 10…
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
Judges 16:1-3
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?”
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
Judges 16:1-3
Samson keeps falling to temptation. His private weakness of sexual sin is not only sinful, but it also almost gets him captured. He keeps moving towards danger, and so far it has worked out for him, but it can’t continue forever. He is constantly putting himself in dangerous territory because of his secret compromises.
Lord, open my eyes to the temptations of Satan and give me strength to fight them.
Revive us, Lord! By the power of your Holy Spirit, convict us and lead us back to repentance. Bring us back to our first love in you.
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?
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
Judges 16:1-3
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield my patterns to you. Expose where compromise has become familiar. Strengthen my discernment so that obedience becomes immediate and wholehearted.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in James 4…
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
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