P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Hagar has fled into certain death when the Lord meets her 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, I enter into this time remembering the words of the Psalmist when he says, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.” I am waiting and trusting that you are the God who sees his people. See me and meet me today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 115…
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
Psalm 115:3
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
Genesis 16:7-12
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 angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
Genesis 16:7-12
Hagar might be the most vulnerable person in all of Scripture at this moment. She is a pregnant female servant who has fled to the desert. Imagine what caused her to make a decision like this. Fleeing into the desert is almost certainly a death wish. It is at this moment God meets her. We see the first appearance of the angel of the LORD to this woman that is caught up in these circumstances. God sees us in our vulnerability and he meets us. Hagar receives a similar promise to Sarah. She too will have a great multitude come from her lineage. Yet, even in the midst of their sin, this child is not the son of promise.
Lord, I ask that you see me now. Meet me in my weakness and where I feel vulnerable today. Show up in my life like you graciously and lovingly showed up to Hagar.
Lord, I am seeking after you to bring revival and waiting for you to do what only you can do. I don’t want another move of some personality on this earth, but all I desire is for the power of your Holy Spirit to fall on all of those around me and transform them powerfully. I trust 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?
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
Genesis 16:7-12
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are the God who meets us in our weakest and most vulnerable moments. Thank you that this story is in your Bible in all of its darkness. Remind me today that at my lowest you are the God who meets me.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Psalm 40…
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3
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.