P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
After decades of waiting Isaac arrives.
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
Heavenly Father, I come before You with a humble heart, seeking Your presence. I thank You for Your endless love and grace, which sustain me each day. As I approach You now, I ask for Your light to guide my path, Your wisdom to shape my decisions, and Your peace to fill my heart. May I feel Your closeness and reflect Your goodness in all I do. In Your holy name, I pray. Amen.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 150…
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150:1-6
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:1-7
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?”
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:1-7
Imagine this moment. All of the heartache and all of the waiting have led to this moment. The Lord has done what only he can do. He took a dead womb and made it alive. He is the God who brings life out of what seems like death.
Lord, you are the God who brings life. I ask that you do the same in my life. Where there is death let me cry out to you to bring life.
Dear God, I come before you with a heart longing for revival. Renew my spirit and fill me with your love and strength. Remove any barriers that hinder my relationship with you and ignite a new passion within me for your Word and your ways. Let your presence transform my life and empower me to live out my faith boldly. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen for 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?
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:1-7
Yielding Prayer
Lord, renew my trust in you through this story. Show me that you are the same God that met with Abraham and Sarah to me today. Give me hope where there is despair. Give me trust where there is doubt. Let me see the death and brokenness in this world and be reminded that you are the God who moves.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Philippians 4…
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
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.