P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Gather Weekly
Today, we look at another reason why gathering is important in Ephesians 4: That we may attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
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
For you alone my soul waits in silence; for from you comes my salvation. (Psalm 62:1) Teach me to trust that as I wait on you, you will continue the work of redemption that you began in me.
We choose to rejoice in God’s power with all his people in the words of Ephesians 1…
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:19b-23
The following passage speaks of some of the gifts given to individuals by Jesus within the church for the good of the whole group:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Today we will not focus on the gifts or the service needed, but on what happens in the working out of these gifts within the body of Christ. In a very real sense, we need each other. If you are not using the gift that Jesus has given you in the body, both you and our church are impaired. And not just because someone else will have to pick up what you are not doing. What Paul is holding out to us here is a picture of maturity, a “fullness of Christ.”
As we come together, using our gifts, sitting under the truth and, in Christ’s strength, learn to work toward unity and love, we attain a fullness of Christ that can’t happen on our own. A fullness that makes withstanding temptation and the wiles of the enemy easier, and supernatural fruit (love, joy, peace, etc,) naturally overflow!
I sit and think about these verses, Father, and that fact that you have created us to need each other. I think, as a general rule, we don’t like to feel needy…we don’t like to ask for help or admit that we need it! And yet, our “needs” are built into your design for the church.
Help me to humbly acknowledge the need that I have for the other members of this body, for I need their help to reach this “fullness” that I cannot reach on my own (and they need mine).
Help me to see how I fit into your church. Am I using the gifts you have given me as you desire? Help me to embrace this beautiful way you have designed your church!
Lord Jesus, I pray now for my pastors and teachers. I pray for Tom, Sam, Ryan, and Mason. I pray for the elders and the deacons and the staff at the church. I thank you for their faithful, wise and loving service to our church. Would you pour out blessings on them today? Would you encourage them and be close to them, give them further wisdom and revelation as they seek to lead us? I pray for your supernatural peace to rest upon them, that you would keep them from the evil one. Please rest your Spirit on their homes and families and fill them with all the fullness of God! Thank you for what they do for our church! Amen
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.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
How grateful I am that, by design, none of your people are to be alone and that all are extremely important. What a precious thought.
Yielding Prayer
I thank you Lord, for the beauty of your design. Your kingdom come, your will be done in my life and the life of Rio Vista Church. May I, in great humility, celebrate other’s gifts and look to you to empower the ones you have given me. I ask forgiveness for any way in which I have neglected your body.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who has loved me and placed me in his body says to me in John 1…
And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
1 John 1:16
Closing Prayer
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.1
1Phyllis Tickle, Divine Hours, Prayers for Summertime, (Doubleday: Random House), The Concluding Prayer of the Church, pg 51.