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 11:13
A gossip goes around revealing a secret,
but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
When I was a child there was a show called Hee-Haw! It was a country variety show that had reoccurring skits. One skit was a bunch of women sitting around and talking about all that went on within their town. The skit opened with a song that went like this:
Now, we’re not ones to go round spreadin’ rumors.
Why really, we’re just not the gossipy kind!
Oh, you’ll never hear one of us repeating gossip!
So you’d better be sure and listen close the first time.
I’ll admit the show was funny and the skit got lots of laughs. But in reality, gossip is no joke! It only hurts people and damages relationships. That’s because gossipers generally want to build themselves up by revealing privileged information with the sole purpose of making the other person look bad and exalting themselves. It really is a form of narcissism.
The Hebrew word for gossip is “rā·ḵîl,” and it means to slander someone by attacking their reputation. Slander—gossip—is a terrible thing! It can destroy someone’s marriage, job, wealth, and family. In the real world—the world we operate in on a day-to-day basis—gossip can be defined as sharing information about the behavior or personal life of other people, often without the full truth revealed or known. This Proverb makes it clear: a gossip betrays a confidant. At some point, probably all of us have been gossiped about, so we know through personal experience the pain gossip inflicts.
Paul lists gossip and slander among the sins of those who rejected God. Look at how he describes them: “…Their sinful lives became full of every kind of evil, wicked schemes, greed, and cruelty. Their hearts overflowed with jealous cravings, and with conflict and strife, which drove them into hateful arguments and murder. They are deceitful liars full of hostility. They are gossips who love to spread malicious slander. With inflated egos, they hurl hateful insults at God, yet they are nothing more than arrogant boasters….” (Romans 1:29-30 TPT). Clearly, God’s Word warns to not be a gossip; instead it encourages us to stay away from people who gossip and to put a guard over our words when we are tempted speak about others. A simple test would be to ask ourselves, “Is what I’m about to say going to tear the person down or build them up?” If it’s the former, then you don’t need to say it. There’s a good chance it is probably gossip.
Response:
The bottom line is this: a trustworthy person keeps a confidence. As followers of Christ, we’re called to be trustworthy. Our lives should be characterized by steadfast affection or allegiance to others. If we’re to live like this, then we’ve got to put gossip away from our lips.
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 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.