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 20
Reflect:
Proverbs 20:7
7 The godly walk with integrity;
blessed are their children who follow them. (NLT)
Integrity: it’s the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; it means having moral uprightness. The godly (the righteous) person is one who consistently behaves aright and is blameless. As believers, we know we will never entirely do this faultlessly because we are sinful people and no one is righteous on their own. But nevertheless, the person of integrity (that’s you and me because we follow Christ) strives to be obedient and pleasing to God in all that they do. In other words, they want the direction of their lives to point to Christ.
We live at a point in history where there is no clarity on what’s right and true. The prevailing thought seems to be, “If it’s right for you, then do it.” or “Well, it’s my truth.” Yet these ideas have left lives wrecked. This line of thinking is nothing but folly. There is no clear fixed point of reference, so lives are adrift. The second line makes it clear that people are watching the godly. They’re waiting to see if the godly consistently behave with integrity.
Living with integrity and choosing to walk according to God’s standards and not our own is a blessing! It’s living and being an active example for others to follow, especially our children! When morally upright people take the lead, society thrives. But when leadership is immoral, chaos breaks loose (Anders). This proverb challenges us to live morally upright lives in a crooked and depraved world.
So what are some practical ways we can make sure we’re living with integrity? Here are a few ways to help us do this: stay in God’s word, seek the Holy Spirit, live in community/godly accountability, pray continually.
After reading this list, you might be thinking, “Jim, that sounds like a lot of work!” Exactly! It is! But it is work well-worth pursuing.
Respond:
Be a person of integrity, resist the influence of culture, and don’t let it pull you in the direction of foolish or wicked behavior. Contemplate the impact your choices have on others.
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 20:1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.