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 28
Reflect:
Proverbs 28:9
9 God detests the prayers
of a person who ignores the law.
Walking in wisdom—obeying God—helps our prayer life! When we refuse to walk the path of wisdom, we are in effect shutting off the pipeline of God’s blessings. I’ll say it as simply as I can: God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who don’t listen to Him.
Isaiah 1:11-15 tells us exactly what God thinks, “‘What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?’ says the LORD. ‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look…’” (NLT)
Wow, that’s powerful! It’s frightening, and so it should be.
God is sovereign. He hears and sees everything; nothing gets by Him. He has given us prayer as a means of enjoying Him as we confess our sins, ask Him to meet our needs, and align our will with His. Prayer is not some ritualistic exercise where we have to chant the words just right for God to hear and answer. No, prayer is a tremendous gift God has given us! He wants us to openly and honestly cast our cares on Him and enter into an intimate relationship with Him! He doesn’t want ritualistic expressions from us; He wants open and honest, heartfelt prayers. He wants us to truly love Him in ways that inevitably overflow into the lives of others.
So how do we do this? Is it even possible? Absolutely! A little further down in Isaiah, He tells us, “’Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.’” (Isaiah 1:16-19 NLT)
If you want God to hear your prayers, the answer is repentance and turning towards Him. If we’re sinning, we stop, we acknowledge it before God, we repent, and we walk in His ways.
Response:
God wants to hear your prayers, but we have to do it in line with His will. Decide today to walk in God’s will and ways. If you do this, God will hear your prayers! But if we continue to try and be the boss of our own lives, He’s not going to listen. He’ll leave us to ourselves. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7 NIV). Choose to remain in Christ.
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 24:3-4
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.