P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week in the Book of Hebrews reflecting on Abraham and Sarah’s faith.
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 Hebrews 13…
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Hebrews 13:15
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Hebrews 11:8-12
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?”
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Hebrews 11:8-12
Abraham’s faith is a deep well that comes from his eyes being focused on God and not the things of this world. He was looking towards something far greater than this life could ever give him. His life matched his values. He valued God above all else and his life shows that, even with all the mistakes that he made.
Lord, I ask that you fill me with your Spirit and fix my eyes on the city to come and not on the things of this world.
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?
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
Hebrews 11:8-12
Yielding Prayer
Lord, give me faith like Abraham. A faith that hears your call in my life and responds in obedience. Fix my eyes on the city that is to come. Fill me with a resurrection hope that you bring dead things to life. Let me walk in obedience today.
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.