P.R.A.Y

PAUSE

REJOICE & REFLECT

ASK

YIELD

Personal Worship

Paul today will beautifully put the focus on Jesus and what he has done for his people.

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.

Pause

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 fill me with your Spirit. Remind me that I come to you as your child. I enter your throne room as the child of the King with the full access that comes with that. I do not come in with any fear, but full of confidence that I will be heard by my Father who loves me.

Rejoice and Reflect

We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 29:

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
  the God of glory thunders,
  the Lord, over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;
  the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Psalm 29:3-9

Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 4:4-7, where we read:

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 4:4-7

Paul gives us six teachings about salvation that comes from Jesus alone.

Jesus came to earth when the fullness of time had come. The Father ordained this time perfectly for Jesus’ arrival. We see that Jesus understood this as he was making his way to the cross and the events that brought us salvation. We also see the world was ready for his coming and the proclamation of the gospel. There was a common language and culture that came from the Greeks. The Romans had provided roads and safety that made spreading the gospel possible. It was the exact right time for sinners to find out about the love of God from the Son of God himself.
God sent forth his Son which is important. One it shows us Jesus eternally deity. He existed before his birth in Bethlehem. Two, we see that the Father willingly sent his Son to die for sinners.
He was born of a woman. He was fully God, yet fully man. The debt created by humanity had to be paid for by humanity. So Jesus Christ taking on flesh as the Son of God allows him to be the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.
Jesus was born under the law and he acted in perfect obedience throughout his life to it. He did what we could not do in our sin.
He came to redeem those who were under the law. That was his purpose. He sacrificed himself in perfect obedience so that we who could not obey the law could have life.
Lastly, Paul shows us that Christ came so that we could be adopted as sons.

Paul in poetic fashion shows us how beautiful what Jesus did for us is. No longer are we slaves under the law we have been set free. Jesus’ sacrifice changes our identity and position to God. Think about how crazy it is that God takes his sinful enemies and transforms them into his children. That the God who knows all things, sees all things, created all things wants you as his child. Not because you have earned, but because of the infinite love, value, and worth that you receive because of Jesus.

Ask

Lord, I cry out “Abba Father” today. Let me experience your love for me as your child.

1)What does this passage teach me about the character of God?
2)Right now am I living my life as a slave or as a son to God?
3)What does this passage show me about how God sees me?

Lord, set a fire down in my soul that I can’t control. I want more of you God. Pour out your Spirit that all will be drawn to you. Wake the slumbering and find the lost. Let us experience all that you have for us.

Yield

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.

Galatians 4:4-7

Yielding Prayer

Lord, you have called me out of slavery and into your family. Let me live this day in obedience to that truth. I have a Father who loves me and cares for me. Let me live like I have been redeemed and adopted into the family of God. Fill me with your Spirit that I would not run back into slavery.

Yielding Promise

And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Galatians 4:7:

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Galatians 4:7

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.