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 24
Reflect:
Proverbs 24:10
10 If you fail under pressure,
your strength is too small. (NLT)
There is one thing the Bible makes clear: trials and difficulties will come our way. This proverb speaks to our response to pressure, which reveals either the source of our courage or our weakness. It’s in times of trouble when what’s really inside of us comes out. Many times, troubles can show that we are either stronger or weaker than we thought. The truth is, we don’t know how strong we are until troubles come.
Our proverb makes it clear that sometimes we fail when troubles come because we simply quit. I recently watched a documentary on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He spoke a lot about the impact his grandfather had on him. Whenever Clarence felt like giving up or just quitting, his grandfather would tell him, “You can give out, but you can’t give up.” His grandfather, who was a believer, understood the underlying value of discipline and commitment found in our proverb. It challenges us to be more than just people who “talk the talk” and then fail to act in line with our words when trouble comes. No, we’re to be people who “walk the walk!” To walk in biblical wisdom means we understand problems are going to come our way, but we meet those challenges with God’s help. People with biblical wisdom know full well that on their own, their strength is small, and so rather than lean on their own strength, they lean in on the Lord.
The writer of Hebrews knew just how weak we can be, and so he encouraged believers to continually look to Christ. Christ is the one who breathes life into us, the one leading us forward in our faith. We can always look to His example. Remember, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father! Christ has shown us how to stand firm in the face of trouble so that we can run with endurance the race that’s been marked out for us. (see Hebrews 12:1-4)
Respond:
Understand that when we take our eyes off Christ, we’re going to stumble and are likely to quit. Don’t quit! Keep your eyes on Christ. Remember that “you can give out, but you can’t give up!” Determine today to run solely for Christ and live for His glory! Keep your eyes on Him in all that you do 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 27:19
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.