P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we receive Jesus’ call to live as salt and light so that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
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, fill me with your Holy Spirit. Meet with me in this time. Enlighten not just my mind, but fill my heart with your truth. Transform me by the power of your Spirit more and more into your likeness.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 27…
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
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?”
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
After describing the blessed life of his kingdom people, Jesus tells his disciples who they are in the world: salt and light. Salt preserves, flavors, and stands out. Light shines, reveals, and helps others see. Jesus does not call us to hide the life he is forming in us. He calls us to live visibly—not for our own praise, but so that others may glorify my Father in heaven. Our good works are not a way to earn God’s love; they are a witness to the God who has already loved us. The life Jesus forms in secret is meant to shine in public.
Lord, create in me a life that brings salt and light to this earth. All the glory belongs to you.
Lord, revive my witness. Let the life of Jesus shine clearly through me today. Make my words, actions, mercy, holiness, and love point others to the goodness of my Father in heaven.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen to 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?
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
Yielding Prayer
Father, I yield my fear, my passivity, and my desire to blend in. Make me salt and light today. Let my life be useful in your hands and visible for your glory.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Philippians 2…
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16
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