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 16
Reflect:
Proverbs 16:20
20 The one who understands a matter finds success,
and the one who trusts in the Lord will be happy. (CSB)
20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper;
those who trust the Lord will be joyful. (NLT)
Faithfulness to the Lord brings blessing. Trusting in the Lord’s instruction leads to a life of joy. Remember that understanding is closely associated with wisdom, and it speaks to our ability to use discretion to do the right thing. I like how the Believer’s Bible Commentary sums up the verse, “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he. So the proverb says, ‘Read your Bible; heed it; and trust the One who wrote it.'”
This makes me think of Jesus’ answer about which command in the Law was the greatest. Do you remember His response? He said, “37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” Jesus said love for God and people, who are made in the image of God, is to be a top priority!
Respond:
Trusting God means that we need to be attentive to His words, to consider and take note of God’s instruction. What would it look like for you to live with the priorities Jesus gives us?
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 27:17
As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.