P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Paul hammers home the point by refixing our gaze on who Jesus is and what he did for us.
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, in your presence, is where I find life. As I enter into your presence would you show me who you are and let me experience all that you have for me? Fill me with your Spirit in this time and renew my spirit.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 70:
May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
Psalm 70:4-5
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Galatians 3:13-14, where we read:
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:10-14
Feel the love and the beauty today in the words of Paul. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who all things were created for, to, and through looked down at you and the curse you bear. He sees you for exactly who you are. He knows every thought. He knows every sin you’ve ever committed. He doesn’t run from you in fact he runs after you. That Jesus himself would become a curse so that you could be freed from your curse. You have no chance outside of him and he graciously is hanged on the cross so that you can be redeemed. On that tree that day Jesus took on the sins of everyone, Jew and Gentile, who come to faith in the true gospel that he came to proclaim and procure on our behalf.
Take time today to just sit in all of this. That Jesus became a curse for you. Praise him and thank him. Spend some time confessing knowing that he was hanged on a tree to pay for all of it.
Lord, revive my heart today. If revival is to come let it begin in my own heart and soul. Fill me with your Spirit so that I can burn for you like a lamp that sits on a hill. Let me experience the steadfast love that you have for me and let that transform my heart to love you more and more minute by minute.
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.
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:10-14
Yielding Prayer
Jesus, thank you. Thank you for loving me even when I was your enemy. Let me see your love and obey out of that and not for that. You were hanged on a tree so that I can find freedom. Let me live in that freedom today!
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Corinthians 1:20:
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20
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.