P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Abram runs to Lot’s aid.
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 come into this time with you will you meet with me? You promise that if I draw near to you, that you will draw near to me. I ask for that today. Let me experience your presence.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 103…
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:6-14
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Genesis 14:13-16
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 one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Genesis 14:13-16
Abram who was unaffected by this raid, because he chose to live as a nomad in the desert and not make a home in a city hears of his nephew’s kidnapping. What seems like a complex decision in my mind because of all that has taken place between Abram and Lot relationally Abram makes a simple and quick decision. He goes and puts his and his men’s lives on the line to rescue his nephew who purposefully left his uncle’s side. Abram does this without hesitation.
Lord, search my heart today. I ask that you show me where my heart and life needs to be rescued by your gracious love. I ask that you show me how I can be like Abram and run towards people who need to find their rescue in you.
Lord, meet with your people again. Revive the hearts of your Church. Bring us back to our first love. Grace our cities with your Holy Spirit that brings resurrection life. Bring those who are dead in sin to life in you.
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 one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Genesis 14:13-16
Yielding Prayer
Lord, Abram understands your heart. A heart that runs towards the needy and those in need of rescue. I am the needy one in this story. Forgive me for all the times I have run from you and found myself in a desperate place. Fill me with your Spirit now. Break my heart from the shame that burdens me. Let me be the hands and feet of your rescuing love today in someone’s life.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Hebrews 7…
Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
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.