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 6
Reflect:
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
We looked at this proverb back in March. We could categorize all the things God hates as wickedness. It’s pretty apparent why God hates these—they destroy life! In the end, they never deliver what we think we want.
As I read over this proverb again, I thought, “If this is what God hates, then what does He love?” It seems others have thought the same thing. A quick Google search will give you several lists. Here are just a few of the things God loves that jumped out to me (in no particular order):
- God loves the world (John 3:16 NLT) — “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” What a beautiful passage! It’s the focal point of the Gospel. Oh, that we would be like Jesus, willing to give up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God’s love!
- God loves you (Romans 5:8 NLT) — “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Think about that for a moment: God sent Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we were good enough, but just because He loved us and wants us to spend eternity with Him.
- God “loves those who pursue godliness” (Proverbs 15:9b NLT) — He loves those who live in obedience to His Word. When we walk in God’s ways, we bring joy to Him. What a motivating thought! You can bring joy to the creator of all that is seen and unseen!
- God loves those who fear Him (Psalm 103:11 NLT) — “For his unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.” His love is immeasurable! We can’t even determine or fathom the size of the universe we live in, and here the Psalm is telling us God’s love for us is greater than that.
These are just four ways scripture communicates God’s love for us. There is a theme within these and other passages found throughout His word and it’s this: God loves you simply because He loves you.
Respond:
Read, meditate, and pray over these Bible verses about God’s love as you walk in faith today.
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 10:9
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.