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 25
Reflect:
Proverb 25:4-5
4 Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
5 remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
Raw silver is not very attractive. Its color ranges from tarnished black, brown to gray, and even dark yellow. On its own it’s just a stone—an ugly junk of minerals. Not until it is placed in the hand of a skilled silversmith will it ever be anything of beauty. The silversmith knows how to refine the silver, taking it from its current raw adulterated state, back to its purest state. To do this, he’s got to apply heat—lots of it! This super-heated crucible causes the impurities to separate as the silver turns from a solid to a liquid state. It’s only then that the dross—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead—creates a scum atop the silver that can easily be skimmed off and extracted from the silver. Now the silversmith can craft the silver into something useful, beautiful, and of great value.
The writer is using the imagery of refining silver to make his point crystal clear about the types of people a king should have as counselors. Wicked and evil counselors are like the dross found in silver; they must be removed. If the king does this, his kingdom will be established on a righteous basis. His action will leave a wise and beneficial government that works well for its people.
That’s well and good, but let’s bring it down to our level, for our lives personally. The principle found in this verse is that of choosing friends wisely. We all have our own little kingdoms of sort and the choices we make will have a direct impact on which path we choose to walk. That’s why it’s important that we think about the kinds of folks that have influence in our lives. We want people that will make us sharper (Prov. 27:17). People who will help us walk the good path.
Respond:
Who are you allowing into your life? Is there any dross that needs to be removed? Ask God to give you healthy relationships—relationships that are built and established on Christ. Ask God to give you the strength and courage to move away from people who are like dross. Walk the path of wisdom!
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:
Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?