P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
We end the week thinking about the face of God.
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, the Psalmist writes, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Let this be my heart today. My soul longs for you and I try to satisfy it with so many lesser things. Today Lord meet with me and let me experience all that you have for me.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 126…
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, Lord,
like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.
Psalm 126:1-6
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Genesis 32:30-32
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
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?”
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Genesis 32:30-32
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
We have a beautiful hope in what is to come. In the midst of all of the chaos of our world we know one day we will be with God. We wait in eager anticipation for that day, but as we wait we seek to experience his face in our moments with him. He is a God who reveals himself to his people if only we will seek him with our whole hearts.
Lord, I see you dimly now, but I know I will see you face to face one day. I ask that you continue to reveal yourself to me during my days on this earth and fill me with a hope for the future.
Heavenly Father, we come before you, seeking revival for our nation. Restore our hearts, turning us back to your ways. Pour out your Spirit across America, igniting faith, hope, and love in every corner. Heal our divisions, renew our minds, and guide our leaders with wisdom and humility. May your truth and grace sweep through this land, transforming lives and drawing us closer to You.
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?
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Genesis 32:30-32
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you meet with your people when we get alone with you, when we embrace our weakness, when we make you the center of our lives, and when we see how you humbly came to meet us. Give me a new desire to meet with you again. Allow me to lay it all down at your feet, because you are the God who can be trusted with it all. Fill me with your Spirit.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me reminds me in Isaiah 40…
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
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.