P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We meditate on the 3rd and 4th Commandments today.
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, let me behold your glory. You are the one and only God. You are holy and good. Your steadfast love meets with your people. Meet with me today. Convict me where there is sin, and let me experience your grace and mercy. Fill me with your Holy Spirit now, and give me understanding.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 119…
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Psalm 119:9-16
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:7-11
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28
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?”
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:7-11
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28
The Third Commandment is more than just saying “God” out loud in an exclamatory or reactive way. At the core of it is if we have faith in Jesus, then we carry the name of God to the watching world. In our lives, we are the visible presence of the Name of God on this earth. God cares about how we behave with that. God also gives his people a rhythm and a different pace of life than this world. In a world that tries to squeeze out every minute for productivity, because our identity is found in what we produce, God says stop. Take a step back. Let there be a day when you know you are loved for more than what you can produce.
Lord, show me today the wisdom of your Commandments. They are not just God commanding us, but they are for our good.
Lord, I repent of my lack of holiness and even a lack of a desire to be holy. Forgive me for seeing your Law as a burden and not a source of life. Fill me with your Spirit and transform my heart now.
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?
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:7-11
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28
Yielding Prayer
Lord, in obedience, I take your name out into the world. Forgive me for how I do it imperfectly. Fill me with your Spirit and let the way my life looks continue to draw closer to what I believe.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 8…
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
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.