P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we look to Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath, trusting that he desires mercy more than empty religious performance.
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, you are where I find life and find it abundantly. By the power of your Word, speak to me now. Show where I am in sin and need to repent. Show me how you are a God who loves me infinitely. Let me find my value and worth in you today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 103…
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:13-14
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:1-8
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?”
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:1-8
The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath because they pluck grain to eat. Jesus responds by showing that God’s law was never meant to crush the needy or ignore mercy. He reminds them of David, the priests, and the truth that “something greater than the temple is here.” Jesus reveals that he is Lord of the Sabbath. In him, we find the true purpose of rest, worship, and obedience. God is not pleased by religious rule-keeping that lacks compassion. He desires hearts that love him and show mercy to others.
Lord, conform my desires to yours. Let me see you and do likewise.
Lord Jesus, revive us from cold religion and lead us into mercy-filled obedience. Teach us to honor you not only with our words and routines, but with hearts that reflect your compassion. Make us a people who rest in you and extend mercy to others.
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?
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:1-8
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield my legalism, pride, and harsh judgments to you. Teach me to obey you with a humble heart and to love what you love. Make mercy visible in the way we treat others today.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 12…
‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”
Matthew 12:7
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