P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week with Jesus’ demand for perfection.
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
We join King David as we pray the words of Psalm 86:
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 92:
How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
but you, O Lord, are on high forever.
For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
Psalm 92:5-9
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Matthew 5:46-48 where we read:
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:46-48
Jesus continues making the case for love by showing us that true love doesn’t just love those who love us. He ends with the wild statement that we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. The whole Sermon on the Mount has been pointing to this fact. There is a wholeheartedness to the Christian life. All that we have and all that we are must be taken up in service to the Father. Our lives are not our own, but we belong to God. The standard is his perfection, not what the world tells us. Verse 48 leads us to two beautiful truths. Firstly, we do not live up to that standard. We utterly fail in our own power. It points us to our need for a Savior, our need for Jesus. Secondly, it gives us something to strive for. No matter how long we have been Christians there is always room for growth to look more like our heavenly Father. And that is a beautiful way to spend this life on this earth.
Lord, I ask that you make me like who you are. Give me a love like yours. Let my life look like who you are.
1)Where am I only loving those who love me? Why is that so much easier?
2)Where can I grow in my love for others?
3)What does it look like for me to strive for perfection like the Father?
Lord, you are mighty to save and I ask that you would look upon your people with favor. See us in our brokenness and meet us. Would you power out your presence and power on us? Send your Holy Spirit. Bring revival to our land and let us glorify you because of it.
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 if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:46-48
Yielding Prayer
Lord, these sayings are hard and I want to run away from them. I am not though. I obey them because you have said them, not because I enjoy them. Fill me with your Spirit and power to obey you well!
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Romans 5:10:
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Romans 5:10
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.