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 23
Reflect:
Proverbs 23:6-8
6 Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,
and don’t desire his choice food,
7 for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
and waste your pleasant words. (NLT)
Envy is at the heart of the warning within this proverb. The teacher doesn’t hold back; he talks straightforward and graphically, warning us not to envy people who become rich by being stingy or penny-pinching. He’s warning us not to fawn all over them. Why? Because the teacher has lived long enough to know that a stingy person has corrupted character, and they’re simply not going to change just because you managed to get a dinner invitation from them. No, they’re a greedy person to their core, and they are more than likely calculating the cost of the food. They’re not looking to bless you, but instead looking for what they can get out of you. And to top it off, they’re doing it deceitfully. They’re phony friends! It’s like the writer is saying, “If you really knew what this person was up to, it would make you want to vomit.” These kinds of folks are takers, they’re not givers. In the end, all they care about is themselves and nobody else. We’re not to crave their delicacies.
Respond:
Do all you can to guard your heart against envy. Ask God to help you see through the phoniness of false friendships. Ask God you give you sincere, deep, and rich friendships with 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 27:19
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.