P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
God reminds Abram of the promise that he has given him
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 Hebrews 13…
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:14-18
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 Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:14-18
God is so gracious to Abram and to us today. God came to Abram with this massive promise, yet at this current moment, Abram and Sarai are still childless. Lot has gone and it is easy to imagine how Abram could be feeling. It seems like from his perspective God’s promise just is not going to happen. God comes to Abram at another transition point in his life and reminds him of the promise. Abram responds in faith and again he responds in worship.
Lord, remind me again of the promises that you have given me. Where there is doubt or fear let that be filled with a spirit of trust and faithfulness in who you are.
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?
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:14-18
Yielding Prayer
Lord, remind me again of the promises that you have for me, whatever they may be. Give me a spirit of love and self-control instead of a spirit of fear. Let me yield in obedience to you today in whatever you have for me. Give me a heart of trust and worship like Abram had. I know that you are a good God who loves me and cares for me and let me live today in light of that.
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.