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: Proverbs Chapter 13
Reflect:
Proverbs 13:3
Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
“Why did I say that! I should have kept my mouth shut. Stupid, stupid, stupid!” was the thought that ran through my head as I drove home for the night. I cringed as I thought about the words that came out of my mouth.
Have you ever had thoughts like these before? Maybe you even wanted to grasp into the air, as to pull those words back. Sadly, I’m sure you have. It’s a problem we all have.
Talking too much leads to all kinds of problems. It’s not that we should never speak, don’t hear me saying that, but we should listen and choose our words carefully before we do. Being careful about what we say can keep us out of trouble. But speaking rashly, and that is what it is when we speak without thinking, brings on trouble. Think about it, when are you more likely to make promises you can’t keep, divulge private information, offend others, or misrepresent yourself? It’s when you put no thought to guarding your mouth. How much better we are when we keep watch over our words.
We find James telling us the same thing in the New Testament. The uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage. (James 3)
The bottom line is this: Proverbs challenges us to take the path of wisdom, to value discipline and self-control. You have not mastered self-control if you’ve not mastered what you say. “Wise speech comes from a wise heart. It is futile to work on speech unless you realize you are working on your heart.” (Anders)
Respond:
Become the master of what you say. Ask God to help you put a guard on your mouth, control of the words that come out of your mouth. Remember that if we can control our tongue, we can then control our whole body.
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 Week’s Scripture Memory:
Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.