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 19
Reflect:
Proverbs 19:17
17 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord,
and he will give a reward to the lender.
This proverb uses the metaphor of loaning money to the Lord to drive home the command to be generous toward the poor. The Lord had commanded his people to be generous with their possessions. They weren’t to worry about their needs being met because the Lord would be the one to meet their needs. He wanted them to be generous to the poor and to do it without a grudging heart. If they did this, the Lord Himself would bless all of their work and everything they put their hands to. (See Deuteronomy 15:1-11)
God wants us to have a genuine concern for people that moves us toward having a helpful hand, especially toward the feeble, weak, and helpless. Blessing the poor—investing in their lives—is an investment the Lord will reward. He regards these acts of kindness as actually being extended toward Himself, and that’s a loan He’ll repay in full!
As followers of Christ, we have to look beyond ourselves and make room in our hearts to love everyone. We can do this by being hospitable to all people, both our friends and strangers. You never know who you’re serving—you might be entertaining angels without even realizing it! (See Hebrews 13:2) But if we don’t open our eyes and stop focusing our attention on ourselves, we’ll likely miss those opportunities.
Jesus told us to feed those who are hungry, give homeless people a place to stay, and care for widows, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. Jesus said when we care for people—especially the least of them—we’re demonstrating our love for Him. (See Matthew 25:31-46)
Respond:
Take time today and look around all the places you go and all the different opportunities you have to serve and love people. Ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to give your life away for His glory. Go ahead and extend a loan to the Lord—and just see if He doesn’t repay you in full.
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 18:24
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.