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 1
Reflect:
Proverbs 1:28-29
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
The simple, the mocker, and the fool are those who hate knowledge. I can picture them in my mind, mocking Lady Wisdom—in turn rejecting the wisdom of God—and rejecting God who is willing to pour out His heart and make known His thoughts.
What makes a person do this? Pride. Pride is at the heart of all rebellion. Pride relies on one’s own abilities, as well as our shortcomings. Pride always points back at us. Pride is what makes us think we know better than God. Rather than drawing us closer to God, it only leads us further away.
I remember watching an NFL special on rookies. Besides the physical training that went on, the league would also bring in former players to talk about the mistakes they had made in the hope that it would help this new crop of players avoid all trouble. One of the speakers said something that has stuck with me over the years. As he was speaking, he looked at the rookies in the room and said, “I’m telling you all this stuff, and some of y’all are sitting there thinking, ‘Yeah, I won’t be as dumb as you. I’m too smart, too slick, to let anything bad happen to me.’ Yeah, go on and think that way. I thought the same thing too!” Arrogance and pride can go hand-in-hand!
We are talking about much more than temporal things, though. We are talking about the eternal. We are talking about the wisdom found in having a right relationship with God.
Now would be a good time to think about where you are. Is pride raising its head in your own life? Do you think you know best what you need? The thought of being lumped in with the simple, the mocker, and the fool ought to send a chill down your spine! Wisdom has freely made herself available, but if you and I refuse to listen, she will step aside and let our choices run the full course, and we will know without a doubt the horrible consequences of not obeying her.
Respond:
Take a moment and ask God to show you ways you’ve been prideful, ways you refused to let go of control over certain areas of your life. Then repent. Ask God for wisdom moving forward.
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 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.