P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Abram and Lot part ways.
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 enter into your presence, fill me with your Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to what you have for me in your Word. Speak truth into my life and give me life through it.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in 2 Corinthians 1…
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Genesis 13:9-13
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?”
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Genesis 13:9-13
Abram gives Lot the option to settle either in the East or the West. The east leads him towards Sodom and the west leads him towards Canaan. God promised Abram and his descendants Canaan, but even in this decision, Abram gives Lot the ability to take what God promised him. Lot though uses his eyes. He sees that the land is fertile like the Garden of Eden but it is a land of great sin and ungodliness. Lot goes anyways. Lot desired to have the blessing of God in a land that was devoid of the presence of God. He chose a place that turned out to be like Egypt. A place of material abundance, but was spiritually bankrupt.
Lord, I ask that you do not give me anything if it doesn’t include your presence. Let my eyes not be tempted by glamour, but let my life be one of faithfulness.
Lord, in a world filled with darkness will you bring light? In a world filled with despair would you bring joy? In a world full of anxiety would you bring peace? In a world that desperately needs a movement of the Holy Spirit would you do what only you can do? Pour out your Spirit on us and lead us in your ways.
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?
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Genesis 13:9-13
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me eyes of faith that see past material things. Let my eyes draw me closer to you and not closer to this world. Teach my heart to desire your presence above all else and make my life faithful to that. Fill me with your Spirit now as I make decisions throughout this day.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 37…
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
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.