P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
For the rest of the week, we will look at the truth that we are justified by faith alone.
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, take me deeper into my relationship with you today. In a world full of distractions I ask that you pour out your Spirit on me now. Meet me where I am at, but don’t leave me here. Give me grace where grace is needed. Give me strength where obedience is needed. Hear my prayers and speak to me now.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 23…
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23:3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
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?”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
The Gospel of Luke takes an odd pause during the crucifixion of Jesus and puts two thieves center stage. One rails at Jesus in anger and one expresses belief in Jesus in what seems at least in my mind the most minor way. He seems to fear God and believe that Jesus has done nothing wrong. That’s the extent of his thoughts that we have and how does Jesus respond? He looks at the man and he says today you will be with me in paradise. This man’s claims on the cross were enough for the blood of Jesus to cover him and for him to spend eternity in paradise. We don’t know his theology and where he lands on every biblical controversy. We never see him pray the “Sinner’s Prayer”. He never chooses what denomination to stake his flag on. All we know is that from at least our perspective he had the smallest belief in who Jesus was and he feared God. For Jesus that was enough. I’m not saying that this is the normative way to come to faith, but it does break us from our desire to earn salvation for ourselves. This man was being executed for crimes he committed and yet Jesus called him into his family based on the beliefs in his heart about who Jesus is. Crucified a thief, yet entered heaven as a saint.
Lord, this is one of those passages that can be confusing for me. It goes against the normal operations of how we see salvation take place on this earth. I ask that you show that first off no one is too far off for Jesus to save. Secondly, I ask that you let me live as I believe. Let my life trust that all I need to do to enter your family is having a real belief in who you are and what you have done on my behalf.
Oh, Lord, would you rend the heavens and come down? Meet with your people for a season of supernatural revival again. Pour out your Spirit. Set the captives free and bring faith to those who lack. Do not forsake us in our errors, but come again in power and glory.
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?
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, it is so easy for me to make the ethics of heaven look like the ethics of this earth. On this earth I am told I need to perform in order to find love, worth, and value. Break me of that. Let me see that I am loved because you have chosen to love me. Let me rest and believe in that alone today. You did what I could not do and draw my heart deeper in love with you.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 103…
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.
Psalm 103:8-12
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.