P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We see Paul’s writings today and the great mystery of Jesus and the Church.
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 1 John 5…
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
1 John 5:14
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:25-33
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?”
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:25-33
Paul gives commands to both husbands and wives in this chapter, those are important, but today focus on what those are based on. Jesus has chosen to use the metaphor of bride and bridegroom to reveal his relationship with the church, which is made of his people. Jesus is coming to us and showing us what our true identity is in him. We are loved by him.
Lord, let me experience your love today. Fill me with your Spirit and remind me who I am in you.
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?
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:25-33
Yielding Prayer
Lord, let me experience your presence today. In a world that defines me by so many standards let the standard I cling to today be your love for me. Remind me of who I am and let me live out of that identity.
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.