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 18
Reflect:
Proverbs 18:17
17 The first to state his case seems right
until another comes and cross-examines him.
SA—Situational awareness. It’s the ability to correctly read and respond to what is really happening in and around us. One aspect of walking in wisdom is the ability to use wise and healthy words when we speak. In other words, it means using the right words at the right time. I believe we can only do that when we have all the information needed to speak to any given situation. Now I will admit, I haven’t always done that.
When I was a first sergeant in the Air Force, I made what I like to call lots of rookie mistakes. One of those mistakes was not getting all the information I needed before engaging an issue. Once I had a troop come tell me that he had not been paid, and when he went to the finance office to figure out what was going on, they just blew him off. I believed my airman, so off I went to the finance office with guns blazing, only to discover that my troop had left out a critical component of the story. Basically, he told me 99% of the story, but the 1% he left out was crucial to the big picture. Had I had all the information, I would have taken a completely different approach.
I learned a valuable lesson that day—get all the information before you make a decision or take action. There are often many sides to a story. Operating with good SA keeps us from making those rookie mistakes.
Respond:
How are you doing with your own SA? We must listen before speaking, restrain ourselves, seek knowledge, and hear all sides of a story before making a decision or taking action. Doing so can keep us out of trouble.
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 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.