Week 29 Day 5
I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence:
Be still for a moment. “Lord, I give the day that is now past to you. It is yours. I give the day that is to come to you; help me to see where you are working and to join you there. Speak to me during these moments. I commit them and myself to you.”
II. Prayer of Confession:
“Lord, you are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin when I confess it to you. I confess my sin(s) of ______________. Thank you for forgiveness.” (1 John 1:9)
III. Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Choose to be thankful, speak out loud of what God has done.
“Thank you, Father, for _________________. Fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude throughout this day.”
IV. Scripture Reflection
Read:
Philippians 2:14-15 CSBDo everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
Reflect:
Most people tend to gripe, especially when we look around and see others not doing what we think they should be doing. In fact, we may even feel like we have a legitimate gripe with an issue or a person, which only causes us to voice our opinion even more. Then it’s downhill from there. It makes the subject or person get under our skin even more so. All this does is cause us to whine and complain—we get tagged by others as being a griper! The problem with being a griper is that no one wants to be around you. Griping tends to pull everyone involved down, and the next thing you know, everything gives us a reason to gripe. I think there is even a physical aspect to it as well, gripe all the time and you tend to be run down and lifeless.
If you’re a believer and you’re known as a griper and complainer, that’s a bad thing. It only hurts the cause of Christ; it pushes people away rather than drawing them to Christ. You don’t have to live this way, you can stop, and by God’s grace, you can experience the peace of God.
Respond:
Paul’s words are pretty straightforward. Use this verse as a reality check for yourself. It’s pretty direct—it doesn’t need a lot of commentary. It tells you how you’re to work out God’s good purpose concerning your daily living. Don’t be a griper! Get out there and find ways to bring light. Find ways to demonstrate God’s love to those who may even be ideologically opposed, enemies. It may be something as simple as a common courtesy towards them, but in doing so, you’ll stand out in the world. Live today as children of the light! Make it your goal to shine like a star to the world where God has placed you. This is pleasing to the Lord of heaven.
V. Prayer for others:
Pray specifically for the concerns of your life and the lives of others.
VI. Prayer of commitment:
“Lord God, I commit to love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself. Empower me today to love you and others with everything that I am.” (Luke 10:27)
This Month’s Scripture Memory:
Philippians 4:4-8
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.