P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
James calls us to action 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
Holy Spirit, make me see, make me know, make me understand, so that I may love You more and more.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 24…
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.
Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
Psalm 24:1-4
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25
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?”
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25
James comes to us and challenges us not just to be consumers of God’s Word. The goal of Scripture leads us into obedience to what God says. He likens it to when we only listen to Scripture to someone looking in the mirror, walking away, and forgetting who he is. The “perfect law that gives freedom” reminds us that obedience is not a burden, but a path to true blessing. This passage is a call to not just walk away from reading the Bible with good thoughts, but a renewed commitment to doing what it says.
Lord, let me not just hear your Word today, but let me go out in obedience and do what you ask of me.
Lord God, You are the breath of life and the fire of our hearts. Awaken us from spiritual slumber, ignite a passion for your truth, and stir a holy hunger for your presence. Revive your Church, O Lord, renew our love for you and for one another. Let your Spirit move mightily in us, that we may live boldly for Your glory and shine your light into the world. 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?
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:22-25
Yielding Prayer
Lord, help me not just to hear your Word, but to live it. Let your truth sink deep into my heart and shape my actions. Show me what needs to change in me, and give me the courage to obey. May I walk in the freedom that comes from doing your will. Make me a doer of your Word.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 66…
Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
Isaiah 66:2
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.