P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We come to our final week in our “Friend of God” series and our final week in the life of Abraham.
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, I ask that according to the riches of your glory, you will grant me to be strengthened with power through your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. Root and ground me in love, so that I may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know that love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with the fullness of God.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Hebrews 4…
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
Genesis 24:1-9
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?”
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
Genesis 24:1-9
Abraham knows he doesn’t have much time left on the earth, but there is one thing he still has to do. He needs to find a bride for his son Isaac. His desire is for this bride to be from his people and not from the land that they are aliens in. He calls up his servant and gives him the mission. Think about what Abraham is asking of his servant. He wants his servant to embark on what some commentators call a 3-year journey. A wholistic mission, it demands his entire life. There is no clocking out until the mission is accomplished. It is a mission that is costly. It will cost him his comfort. It is a mission that requires difficult decisions because this is a huge ask by Abraham. A mission that has a huge fear of failure. What if he returns after 3 years without a bride? It is a story of a father seeking a bride for his son and it is the servant’s duty to help that to happen. And the question for Eliezar, the servant, is will he go? This is not just the story of Eliezar, but it is our story as the Church. Think about it. Abraham is the Father who calls his servant to go out and bring back a bride for his son. That is the same language the Bible uses for Christians and their mission. To go out and bring people to Jesus, who is the Son of God who is on a mission to rescue his bride, the people of God. When we come to faith in Jesus we become the servants tasked with finding others and bringing them into the fold of the family.
Lord, this is not just the mission of Eliezar, but it is the mission of your Church. I am a servant tasked with bringing the bride of Christ to Jesus. I ask that you show me my part. Fill me with your Spirit and speak to me now.
Lord, we come before you seeking revival in our hearts and lives. Renew our spirits, ignite our passion for your truth, and restore our commitment to follow your ways. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, bringing fresh hope, strength, and courage. Revive our faith and fill us with your love, so that we may shine as lights in this world.
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?
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
Genesis 24:1-9
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you have called me not only your child but your servant. Give me a heart that seeks to bring people to Jesus. Give me a desire to see all those around me come to a saving faith in Jesus. Fill me with your Spirit and let me go out in obedience saying, “Yes, I will go” no matter what the cost is.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Hebrews 11…
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
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.