P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today, we look at what is known as “The Shema” in Deuteronomy.
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, would you take what seems ordinary and by your power bring an extraordinary, supernatural response? You are the God of Resurrection, so meet with me now.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 119…
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:9-11
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
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?”
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
God’s truth is not meant to be discussed only during worship services, Bible classes, or formal moments of instruction. Deuteronomy 6 describes a faith that fills the home and shapes everyday life. We speak about God when we sit, walk, lie down, and rise. The next generation learns what it means to love God not only through what we teach, but also through what they see in us. When our conversations, decisions, habits, and relationships are shaped by God’s word, children see that following him is not merely one part of life—it is the foundation of all of life.
Lord, let my life be a testimony to what you have done. Fill me with your Spirit and let me love you with all my heart, all my soul, and all my might.
Pray today for the Faculty and Staff of BCS! Pray for their hearts as they enter into the new year. Pray against the attacks of Satan. Pray that the Spirit would fill them with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control as they interact day in and day out with their students. Pray for their health as they are surrounded by sickness each and every day!
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?
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Yielding Prayer
God, I yield the ordinary moments of my day to you. Help me love you with all my heart, soul, and strength, and let my life teach others to do the same.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in 2 Corinthians…
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians:8
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