Breakthrough 2023 Prayer Guide
Each morning you will find a new Prayer Guide that will help facilitate a time of prayer and meditation. We encourage you to reflect, be still, and listen as you pray and read through the guides. Each guide is structured around the acronym P.R.A.Y. For more information check out this post.
May the next 14 days be marked by transformation and depth of intimacy with the Lord.
Jehovah Raah // The Lord is My Shepherd
Pause
As we enter into a time of prayer and meditation, take a moment to quiet your soul. The Psalmist invites us to be still and know that He is God. Be still. Take a deep breath. Clear your mind and ask the Lord to protect your thoughts.
Pray the following prayer:
Jehovah Raah, The Lord who is my shepherd, I might not have much but what I do have is a heart that beats for You. Stir up a hunger in my soul to sit in Your presence, and to taste and see that You are indeed good. Come, Holy Spirit.
Reflect
In the most literal understanding of the word shepherd, two key elements are required: To be a constant presence with one’s flock (a shepherded could not abandon his flock for fear they might wander away) and to be an ever-present protector and caretaker. With those characteristics and qualities in mind, read Psalm 23:
Psalm 23:1-4
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Ask
Unlike sheep or goats, we are not blind or mute subjects. Instead, our Good Shepherded allows us, and wants us, to spend time in His presence making our request known. This morning, what do you need from your Shepherded? What valley or shadows (see Psalm 23:3-4) are you walking through?
Yield
A shepherded has so much responsibility, as we’ve contemplated; however, for the flock, only one thing is required: trust. Do you trust your Shepherd? Do you trust that your Shepherded will faithfully guide you towards green pastures and still water?
John 10:14
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
We do not blindly follow an unknowing or removed Shepherded. God knows our needs, and He cares deeply. Do you trust the Lord knows you? If the answer is yes, then are you willing to follow?
Pray the following prayer:
My Good Shepherd, today there many different ways and persuasions that I can follow. But, like You warned, they are nothing more than ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing. You say that Your sheep know Your voice. Help me know and recognize Your voice.
End your time by praying the following prayer:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with me: wherever He may send me.
May He guide me through the wilderness: protect me through the storm.
May He bring me home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown.
