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 3
Reflect:
Proverbs 3:1-2
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.
Forgetfulness. We all have forgotten something at some point along the way. Many times as I’m heading out the door, Patty will say, “Jim, don’t forget your wallet.” To which I say, “Okay, thanks!” Then off I go with my wallet sitting on the kitchen counter! I walk by as if she had said nothing! I know this frustrates her to no end. But a forgotten wallet is something minor in the big scheme of things, and it’s an inconvenience at best.
What about profound truths, life-giving truths, truths of utmost importance? Can they be forgotten? Would we leave them sitting on the “kitchen counter” and walk by them like they are of no significance at all? Sadly the answer is, yes!
James makes this clear when he writes, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:22-25 NLT)
Like James, wisdom is speaking clearly; she’s calling us to the truth of the Gospel. The challenge for us is not to forget her warning as we go about our days! Decide today to live a single-story Gospel-centered life. You can do this.
Jesus even helps us heed wisdom’s call. That’s right. He makes it easy for us! He gives us just two commands. He tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then he says to love your neighbor as yourself. He says there is no other command greater than these two! (Mark 12:29-31 CSB)
Respond:
When you go about your day, there’s not a lot you have to remember when it comes to the Gospel. However, this doesn’t mean loving God and others will be easy; it’s going to take work and a settled mind to make these two commands a reality. The easy thing would be to walk on by and forget Jesus’ command. But don’t do that! Choose today to love God and love others! Don’t forget this truth—live it!
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 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.