P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We all need reminders sometimes.
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 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.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 29:
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29:10-11
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 4:8-11, where we read:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Galatians 4:8-11
This whole letter is Paul pleading with them to just remember. To remember who God is. To remember who they are. To remember that Jesus has done it all. To remember they are sons, not slaves. He reminds them when they did not know God that they were enslaved to all of the gods of this world, but their lives were transformed. They are different now because they know God, but more importantly because they are known by God. Just pause there for a second. It is easy to always use the language from our perspective. Things like “I know God.” Sit in the truth that you are known by God. That the God who is holy, almighty, and all-knowing knows you personally and intimately. It is because of that he is jealous for you. He doesn’t want you turning back to the worthless idols of your past because he doesn’t love you. It is because he loves you that he wants you to run back into his arms. The truth is we all need this reminder more often than we would like. Today though remember. Remember who God is. Remember who you were and who you now are. Remember that wherever you find yourself in this moment you have a Father who loves you and cares for you. If you are far off come home and be welcomed back. If you are stuck remember that Jesus redeemed you so that you can be free.
Jesus, I ask that you would give me a spirit that remembers today. Remind me of who you are and who I am to you.
1)Why is it easy for me to turn back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of this world?
2)What comes to my head and heart when I think about being known by God?
3)What do I need to remind myself of today in order to live in freedom as a child of God?
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.
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.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Galatians 4:8-11
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I ask that you would forgive me for all of the times I run back to the weak and worthless idols of this world. Give me your Spirit that I may not run back to those things again. I can’t do this on my own and I need your power to crush those desires. Lord, remind me today of your love for me. Remind me that I live this day in obedience to you not because I am trying to earn your love, but because I have been so loved by you I am free to chase after obedience today.
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.