P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
As we continue in our 21 days of Pray First, we will explore what the Bible says about failure and how God defines a life of success. We will use these truths to pray over ourselves and others in the ASK section below.
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
Last week, as we looked at the heart, we asked you to consider fasting from some aspect of technology. You could continue that fast this week, or fast instead from something that you find yourself using to satisfy a “hunger” that is not Jesus. That could be alcohol, or food, or entertainment, or something else. Put that down this week and turn to God for your satisfaction.
Father, we thank you that we have been given the bread of life in you, and that our spiritual hunger has been forever satisfied! As we humble ourselves before you these three weeks and sacrifice something that is important to us in favor of receiving more of you, we offer you our response of love and wait for your blessing here at your feet. For we know it is only you who can satisfy our souls. (Based on John 6:35 and Jeremiah 31:25)
We choose to rejoice in the power of God’s Word, with all his people in Isaiah 55:
“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6-7
Today we are reflecting on the words of Scripture in Luke 15, where we read:
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”‘ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants,’Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:11-24
The parable of the prodigal son is really the story of every one of us. For we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have all failed to meet God’s standard. In the story of the younger son, we see an ungrateful man who looks at the gifts he enjoys in his father’s house as debts owed to him. We see a loving father who allows him to choose his own way, instead of forcing him to stay and comply. We see the abject failure of this son, as he squanders his inheritance on the various pleasures of this world and then ends up in a pigsty.
It is here that the eyes of the son are opened to his true state. He suddenly understands his utter poverty (that he is a great sinner in need of help) and remembers that even the lowliest servant in his father’s house has it better than he does in that moment. So, he turns his back on the far country and runs back to his father in repentance, where he is welcomed home in a lavish display of complete forgiveness, acceptance and love.
This is the gospel call to us! We have each gone our own way and the Lord has let us fail in order to bring us to the very end of ourselves, so that we can understand our great need for him. In this way, our failure drives us to the instrument of our salvation, who is Christ. That is the great and eternal good that he brings out of our failure.
But we also need to recognize the response of the son once he understands his sinfulness and need. There was a “turning” from sin in repentance, and a “turning” to his “father” (who represents God) in faith. True saving faith involves a sincere sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and an authentic commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. When we turn in this way, our Father comes to us in a lavish display of forgiveness, acceptance and love, and we become children of God!
In this season of PrayFirst, we ask the Lord to help us personally and corporately:
Personal:
Thank God today for the gift of salvation and the forgiveness and love he has lavished on you, that you could become a child of God! Sit in his full acceptance for a moment and truly rest in and value your place in Jesus. If there has never been a moment in your life where you made a definite decision to “turn” to the Lord, would you do that right now? Just understanding how to do it is not enough! It must be a personal decision. If you do choose to make this decision, please let someone at church know so we can celebrate with you!
Corporate:
Pray for the prodigals you know. Pray for the adult children of the saints at Rio who have walked away from the church. Pray for the teenagers you know who have not yet made a decision for Christ. Pray for the young ones, that God would, even now, plant seeds of faith into their hearts. Pray for those in the United States who have “deconstructed” and walked away from the faith. Ask God to open their eyes to their true state and lead them to salvation.
As I read the passage again slowly, I listen for anything that You would say to me in it. Help me see how to position my life in order to yield to your word.
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”‘ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants,’Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:11-24
Yielding Prayer
Father, as I remember the wonderful day of my salvation when I turned from my sin in repentance to you, help me to live today with that same sort of surrender toward my calling. Make my sorrow for sin this day equally genuine and my commitment to you in this moment equally strong. Lord, renew a steadfast spirit within me in any area of weakness! Be glorified in me, I pray.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 30:
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved;”
Isaiah 30:15(a)
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.