P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We come to the story of Elisha. Elisha was a man who gave it all up in order to obey the Lord.
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 come to you this morning I ask that your Word that I read and meditate on not return void in my heart. Let your Word accomplish the task that you have set before it and let it succeed in the way you have sent it. Bury the truths you have for me today in my heart.
*Adapted from Isaiah 55:11
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Psalm 102:
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.
Psalm 102:25-28
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in 1 Kings 19:19-21 where we read:
So he [Elijah] departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
1 Kings 19:19-21
Elijah was the prophet of God to a people who didn’t want anything to do with God. He was on the run from a king and a queen who wanted him dead. He calls Elisha to that lifestyle. Elisha had a good life going. We know he lived in a beautiful place that was perfect for growing crops in an agrarian society. He was wealthy. He had a good business going on with his 12 oxen. He had it all. Out of nowhere, he is called out of that life and into one of being a prophet of God. He has to make a decision and make it quickly. What does he do? He goes faithfully into an unknown future. He destroys any plan b he has to go back to that way of life. The cost of discipleship for him was high, but it was infinitely worthwhile in his eyes because he doing it with the Lord.
Lord, show me the beauty of following you. Let my heart see that you are worthy of it all. You bled and died for me, now I ask that my life be a sacrifice for your glory.
1) What do I think was going through Elisha’s mind during this scene?
2) Where do I love the things of this world more than I love God?
3) What is God calling me to sacrifice in order to follow him?
Lord, through the power of you speaking you bring life out of nothing, I saw that at creation. I plead with you now to do it again. Speak life into my heart. Revive the areas that are dead and do not stop there. Speak life over this city and the people in it. Revive our weary and cold hearts to shine forth your glory.
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.
So he [Elijah] departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
1 Kings 19:19-21
Yielding Prayer
Lord, fill me with your Spirit. Surround me with your presence. Transform the love I have for this world and the things in it. Let me see every blessing that you have given me and use it for your glory. Show me the areas of my life that I am withholding from you and let me give them to you now.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 6:33:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
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.