P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we enter into the crux of Paul’s arguments in Galatians as we look at the doctrine of justification.
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 remind me of what you say in Zephaniah 3:17. You are the God who is in my midst. You are the God who is mighty to save. You rejoice over me with gladness. You quiet my restless heart with your love. Through every aspect of my life, you are singing over me. Bury these truths deep down in my soul as I enter into my time with you.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 16:
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Psalm 16:7-8
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 2:15-16, where we read:
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:15-16
Today, Paul introduces us to the famous doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. He is writing to these Jewish Christians claiming yes that they both were born into the family of God by being Jews. They were never on the outside, but things have changed. No longer is anyone justified by works of the law. Justification is a legal term, used in a court of law. It means to be proclaimed innocent, to be acquitted, to be cleared of all charges. In a biblical sense, it means to be declared righteous before the bar of God’s justice. Paul is explaining to us God’s method of salvation. No longer is it found in the law, but in faith in Christ. How does a person get right with God? Not through the law, but through Jesus as the object of our faith. Faith is total surrender to Jesus Christ, a complete acceptance of all that he is and all that he has done for salvation. We are justified when our faith takes hold of Jesus. Jesus is the one who makes us right with God. We are acceptable to God not when we keep the law, because we know we can’t do that perfectly. We are acceptable to God when we cling to the one who kept the law perfectly, Jesus. It’s a personal relationship. We believe and trust in Jesus for our acceptance.
The beautiful part of justification is not the power of our faith but the object of our faith. We are creatures that are prone to wander and we feel it. We are people that get to cry out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” and Jesus answers with his perfect unwavering faithfulness to us. So cry out today to the perfect Son of God who did what we could never do and feel the warm and welcoming embrace that he has for you today.
Jesus, I ask that you open my eyes to the beauty of justification through faith alone in you. I ask that you would let me experience the freedom that comes from what you have done on my behalf and the riches I inherit because of it.
1)What does the doctrine of justification teach me about who God is?
2)Where do I doubt my justification and try to justify myself?
3)In who or what am I tempted to place my trust in outside of Jesus?
4)Why does the doctrine of justification allow me to experience freedom?
You are the God who moves. I ask that you would do exactly what you have done in every century throughout history. Move in your people. Awake the sleepers. Save the lost. Meet this world in a supernatural way that brings you all the glory. We are crying out for a broken and messy world that needs your love so desperately.
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word.
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:15-16
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are so good to me. In your perfect plan is where I find peace and freedom. Forgive me when I try to add or subtract to it. As odd as this feels, because there is nothing to do but trust in you let me obey. Give me your Spirit that stops my striving and my trying to earn it. Give me a Spirit that clings to you and you alone.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Ephesians 2:8-9:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
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.