P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today is Ash Wednesday! We hope that you join us tonight in the Worship Center from 6:30pm-7:30pm and we enter into the season of Lent together.
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 are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end. You formed me in my mother’s womb. You know every hair on my head. You have ordained the path of my life. With all of that in mind, I approach you at this moment, knowing you not only did all of those things, but in the midst of all of that, you care for me. Let me experience your love and mercy. Speak to me through your Word today.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise that God gives us in Psalm 130…
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Matthew 4:1-11
All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
Ecclesiastes 3:20
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?”
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Matthew 4:1-11
All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
Ecclesiastes 3:20
Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent, falls 40 days before Easter each year. We do not count Sundays because the Lord’s Day re-enacts the full gospel and not only the call to repentance. This number of days corresponds with the 40-day fast of Jesus (Matt. 4:2) and for that reason, many people choose to fast from something during the season of Lent. Neither Ash Wednesday nor Lent is a commanded ordinance in Scripture, nor are they recognized as sacraments in our church tradition. This means that while we believe it may be good for your soul to engage in and be formed by these practices, they are not in any final sense necessary obligations.
Lord, I ask that you meet with me in a special way this Lenten season. Show me who you are and who I am and transform me to become more like you.
Lord, while I was not at the Red Sea with the Israelites, there are moments in life where it feels like my back is up against a Red Sea of my own. At that moment, you call me to trust you. Oftentimes, I am overwhelmed with a spirit of fear. I repent of that spirit of fear, and I turn back to trust in you. I cling to the promise of 2 Timothy 1:7, which reminds me that you have not given me a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. As I empty myself of fear, would you fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me a spirit of power, love, and self-control?
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen to 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?
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Matthew 4:1-11
All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
Ecclesiastes 3:20
Yielding Prayer
Lord, you are the God who goes into the wilderness. Remind me when I am in the wilderness that I have a God who knows what thats like. Let me combat the lies of Satan today with the power of your Word. Meet with me and let me see you.
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.“
The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
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.