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 8
Reflect:
Proverbs 8:12-13
12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
Wisdom has a roommate—it’s prudence! These two go hand in hand. But wait—that’s not all! Wisdom also partners with knowledge and discernment! (Ha! I sound like one of those infomercials!) Think about that for a moment. Wisdom is personifying the traits that make her so attractive. It’s as though she’s saying, “Let me introduce you to my best friends prudence, knowledge, and discernment. Where you see one of us, you can’t help but see the rest of us. We’re tied together at the hip, kind of like a posse!” Wisdom is attractive; you see it and you want to be close to it.
There’s also another set of traits listed: pride, arrogance, corruption (evil behavior), and perverse speech. Ooh, they’re a bad bunch. Think of the movie “Mean Girls” and you get the idea. They’re the moral opposite of Wisdom’s crew. They’re made up of those who despise wisdom and discipline. The two different groups can’t run together, and here’s why.
Notice what’s squeezed in-between these two sets of traits—it’s the fear of the Lord! In fact, Wisdom and her crew stand firm in the “fear of the Lord” while the “Mean Girls” crew runs down the path of folly.
Our verses remind us that wisdom is not autonomous or independent from God. Anything claiming to be true wisdom void of God is counterfeit, it’s broken, it’s folly. When these two different camps of attributes are set side by side, one can clearly see what does and doesn’t constitute true Wisdom. The distinctions are established. The boundaries are marked out clearly, and there can be no misunderstanding on the part of the hearers. (Harrison)
Respond:
Will you listen to Wisdom’s call? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7)
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 26:27
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.