P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We meditate on the wisdom of Paul today.
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, my soul needs more than this world can give me. I come to you today in need of replenishment. As I seek you will you fill me? I approach your throne to experience who you are. Let me see you and experience you today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Matthew 12…
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 12:28-30
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
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?”
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
I love how this verse starts. We deceive ourselves into believing that we are the exception to what Paul is teaching. We believe that we can surround ourselves with bad company for seasons of life and think it does not affect us, but it does. We need to be on guard and seek honesty in our lives when we think about this verse.
Lord, I ask that you let me not be deceived. Pour out your Spirit of truth and let me deal with my life honestly today.
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?
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you give me wisdom like this in your Word to protect me from myself. Sin and bad company is alluring at times. It seems easier oftentimes to leave morality behind, but you have called your people to something greater. Let me not be deceived.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Lamentations 3…
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
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.