P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
This week we will be looking at the life of Samson, one of the Judges of Israel that God raised up to deliver his people.
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, you call me to search for you and your strength and to continually seek you.* That is my desire today. Show me your face and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Give me not only insight into your Word but transform me by its power.
*Adapted from 1 Chronicles 16:11 NLT
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 34…
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
Judges 13:1-7
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?”
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
Judges 13:1-7
The Book of Judges is insane, to say the least. The stories are wild, but the through line for all of them is that the people of Israel did what was right in their own eyes. They decided to live without God and God allowed them to do that and every single time they were taken over by another nation. In the story of Samson, it is the Philistines. Eventually, the people of Israel remembered God and cried out for help. God always heard them and raised up a deliverer. In this case, God opened up the womb of a barren woman and she conceived and would give birth to Samson, who took the Nazirite vows. He vows not to drink any strong drink, touch anything unclean, or cut his hair. Sounds odd, but will be important later in his story. Look at the language that is used. She will bear a son who will save Israel and deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. God is so gracious to his people in the midst of their sin to deliver them.
Lord, I ask that you show me who you are and show me who I am in light of that. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and reveal to me the ways where I am living by doing what is right in my own eyes.
Revive us, O Lord! Let a mighty wind of your Spirit sweep across our hearts, purging complacency and rekindling a burning passion for you. May this revival be a wildfire, spreading through communities and igniting a transformative blaze of faith that leaves the world forever changed.
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?
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
Judges 13:1-7
Yielding Prayer
Lord, I yield in obedience that you are the decider of what is right. The ethic of this world lives differently. Forgive me for when I live in such a way where I am the arbiter of truth and not you. Let me see how good you are though that you hear my cries for deliverance. Fill me with you Holy Spirit and let me experience your love and grace now.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in James 4…
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8
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.
*The P.R.A.Y. acronym has been adapted from the Lectio 365 app.