P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We see today that God doesn’t just restore individuals, but his people as a whole.
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, I cry out with the saints and the angels, “Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. There is none like you.” Pour out your Spirit now and transform me as I behold your glory.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Lamentations 3…
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel 2:23-29
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?”
“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel 2:23-29
Dating the Book of Joel is difficult due to its lack of some details needed for that. One of the options is that it takes place after Nehemiah has rebuilt the walls of the city, and God’s people are returning again. God doesn’t just give them the bare minimum as he restores them. He gives them abundant rain. The threshing floor is full of grain. There are vats of wine and oil. He promises to restore the years that they lost to locusts and armies. He gives them the promise of the Spirit, which is fulfilled at Pentecost. He is generous. What a word this must have been for his people.
Lord, I ask that you give me a vision of restoration for your people. I ask that you show me your glory. Let me see this restoration fulfilled.
Lord, we come before you with humble hearts, longing for your presence to fill us once again. We confess our complacency and ask that you awaken our spirits. Breathe new life into dry bones and stir our hearts with holy fire. Let your truth pierce through every shadow and your mercy flow like a river. Revive us, God—not just for our sake, but so the world may see your glory through us. Let your kingdom come and your will be done, in us and through us.
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?
“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Joel 2:23-29
Yielding Prayer
Lord, restore your people again. Restore us at an individual level and at the worldwide church level. Restore the years that we have lost. Satisfy us with you. Pour out your Spirit on us. We pray and seek your face as we abandon all of our wicked ways.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in John 6…
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
John 6:37
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.