P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Paul shifts from a historical argument to an allegorical argument 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
Guide us, O God, by your Word, and Holy Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find freedom, and in your will discover peace; through Christ our Lord, Amen.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 84:
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84:9-10
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 4:24-27, where we read:
Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
Galatians 4:24-27
Paul now allegorizes the story of Hagar and Sarah. Paul understands that there is that the history of Abraham’s sons has something to say about the way God deals with his people. Hagar stands for the old covenant given through Moses. That covenant had stipulations that God’s people had to keep in order to receive God’s blessing. It was based on the principle of works and keeping it was a type of bondage. This is what the Galatians are living in as they reject the true gospel that Paul is offering to them. Sarah was given a promise and she represents the new covenant. The covenant where God is constantly saying, “I will” not “You shall”. Paul is showing them and us that when we forsake the new covenant we are living in the bondage of the law.
Lord, show me what it looks like to live in freedom. I ask that you would give me clarity of your promise that makes me run from the law.
1)How would I describe my relationship with God in these terms? Do I view God as the God of Mt. Sinai or the God of the new covenant?
2)What do the actions of my life show in regard to what I believe? Am I living in freedom or bondage?
Wake us up, Lord! Remind us to live aware, to redeem the time, to listen to your words, and to be willing to make a difference in the places you’ve called us to be. Thank you for your mighty power that acts on behalf of your children. Out of your kindness, please extend to us your grace and freedom. Cover us with your protection. Empower us with your strength. We ask for an awakening of your presence in our own lives and in the world around us, as never seen before. We pray for your help to be faithful to proclaim your name, and that all the enemy’s plans to silence the name of Jesus would be crushed.
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.
Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
Galatians 4:24-27
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I bow down at your feet. I am so thankful that I am in the days of the new covenant. I praise you that you are the God who did it all for me. Now let my heart trust in your Son’s finished work on the cross. Let me cease striving and rest in the one who can be trusted.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Galatians 5:1:
For freedom Christ has set us free
Galatians 5:1
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.