P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we bring before Jesus our desires, our eyes, our imagination, and our commitments, asking him to purify our hearts.
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, as I enter into your presence, I ask that you would meet with me. By the power of the Holy Spirit, would you enter into my world? Where you are able to be praised, let me praise you. Where I need to confess and repent, let me do so quickly. Where I can obey, you let me do so without pause. Transform my heart to look more like yours.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 51…
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:27-32
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 have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:27-32
Jesus moves from the outward act of adultery to the inward reality of lust. He shows that sin is not only what we do with our bodies, but also what we nurture in our hearts. Lust trains me to use others instead of loving them, to consume instead of honor, and to hide instead of walking in the light. Jesus’ words are serious because purity matters. He calls us to radical repentance, not casual compromise. Then Jesus speaks about marriage and divorce, reminding us that covenant faithfulness matters to God. In a world that often treats desires and commitments lightly, Jesus calls us to purity, honor, and faithfulness.
Lord, I ask that you reveal to me the sin in my heart. Expose me not for shame’s sake, but for the sake of repentance.
Lord, revive purity in my heart. Cleanse what has become hidden, divided, or compromised. Give me holy desires, disciplined eyes, and a renewed imagination. Teach me to love people as image-bearers, not objects. Strengthen my faithfulness and make my heart fully devoted to you.
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 have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:27-32
Yielding Prayer
Father, I yield my desires to you today. I surrender every secret compromise, every careless glance, every impure thought, and every place where I have resisted your holiness. Give me the courage to cut off what leads me away from you. Form in me a clean heart, a faithful spirit, and a life that honors you in private and in public.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 1 Thessalonians 4…
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Thessalonians 4:3
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