Proverbs Devotional 3.11.20

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 11

Reflect:

Proverbs 11:24

24 One person gives freely, yet gains more;
another withholds what is right, only to become poor. 

Are you a generous person or not? To give freely means to scatter or distribute, to be generous without worrying about where the blessing falls. 

But wait, you think, if I give generously, there won’t be anything left for me! So I’ll hold back and refuse to give. That way, I’ll have what I need. Yet, this is not what we are being told to do—we’re told if we give, we’ll gain not lose. It’s a paradox. The very thing we think we can’t do is what we are told to do. We see this same paradox in Jesus’ teaching, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.” (Matt.16:25)

Our natural tendency is to hold some back, just in case we need a little extra. Do you see how this causes our thoughts to turn inward instead of outward towards others? When God provides us with resources beyond our needs, he wants us to be generous with those resources. After all, he owns all of them; we simply steward them.

If we try to protect ourselves out of our own resources and abilities rather than going to God, we begin to die spiritually and emotionally, our lives turn inward, and we lose our intended purpose. When we give our resources and our lives in service to Christ, we discover the real purpose of living! 

Respond: 

Will you trust the Lord to meet your needs as you give generously to Him? If you can’t do this right now, ask Him to reveal what it is that is standing in the way. Ask Him to help you to trust Him.

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: