P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
James turns to our earthly circumstances 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
Father, as I come before you now, I quiet my heart and turn my attention to you. Thank you for your presence and for the gift of your Word. Open my eyes to see your truth, open my ears to hear your voice, and open my heart to receive what you want to speak today. Remove distractions and stir my spirit to listen with faith and respond with obedience. May this time with you draw me closer, deepen my love for you, and shape me more into the image of Christ.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Matthew 23…
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:9-11
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?”
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:9-11
James wants us to meditate on our identity today. In our world, it is easy just to become what we have or what we do. The gospel comes to us and says your only identity is that you are a child of God. You may wear different hats, but that’s who you are. This allows us not to worry about our earthly state. We are not defined by status or riches. God will exalt the lowly brother, and the rich man who trusts in himself will be humiliated because, in the end, it all gets taken from us.
Lord, search my heart today and show me where I am placing my identity.
Lord, we come to you with humble hearts, asking you to awaken what has grown cold. Breathe life into dry bones and renew our love for you and for one another. Ignite a holy fire within us, that your name would be honored in our homes, our churches, and our world. Turn our eyes from sin and draw us back to your presence. Revive us, O God, that we may live for your glory again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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?
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:9-11
Yielding Prayer
Lord, let my focus be on you and you alone. In obedience to God, I forget about the things of this world and seek to behold your glory. Fill me with your Holy Spirit.Lord, I come in obedience, asking for wisdom in the places I lack it. I need skill in living when it comes to the trials that I am facing. God fill me with your Spirit and transform my double-minded ways. Let my focus and trust be in you and you alone today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Philippians 1…
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
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.