P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we come to Jesus as our highest treasure, asking him to reorder our loves so that nothing stands above him.
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, draw near to me by the power of your Word. Let your Holy Spirit fall on me and bring not only understanding but transformation.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 73…
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25-26
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
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?”
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
Jesus gives hard but loving words. He shows us that following him may bring division, even among those closest to us. He is not calling us to love our family less in a sinful or careless way; he is calling us to love him more than anyone and anything. The disciple must take up the cross and follow him. Whoever clings to life on their own terms will lose it, but whoever loses life for Christ’s sake will find it. We are invited to surrender lesser loves so we can receive true life in him.
Lord, I ask that you show me what it looks like to love you above all else.
Lord Jesus, revive us with a greater love for you. Break the power of divided affections and awaken our hearts to the beauty, worth, and sufficiency of Christ above all.
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?
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
Yielding Prayer
Lord, we yield every rival love to you. Teach us to take up our cross and follow you with joy. Help us lose what we cannot keep so that we may gain the life that is found only in you.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Matthew 10…
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:39
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