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 25
Reflect:
Proverbs 25:6-7
6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
7 it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.
As we’ve already discussed in previous devotions, pride is at the root of many sins. Self-righteousness is the idea that we deserve something because of how good we are or the things we’ve accomplished are at the heart of man’s fallen condition. And when it comes to self-exultation, know that we have a natural tendency toward promoting ourselves above others. Our proverb for today warns us to be on the watch for this attitude and when we see it, we need to nip it in the bud. We can never forget that when we self-promote, we’re setting ourselves up for a big demotion!
We even find Jesus teaching a parable on this saying in the gospel of Luke:
“7 When Jesus noticed how the guests for the meal were all vying for the seats of honor, he shared this story with the guests around the table: 8 “When you are invited to an important social function, don’t be quick to sit near the head of the table, choosing the seat of honor. What will happen when someone more distinguished than you arrives? 9 The host will then bring him over to where you are sitting and ask for your seat, saying in front of all the guests, ‘You’re in the wrong place. Please give this person your seat.’ Disgraced, you will have to take whatever seat is left. 10 Instead, when you’re invited to a banquet, you should choose to sit in the lowest place so that when your host comes and sees you there, he may say, ‘My friend, come with me and let me seat you in a better place.’ Then, in front of all the other guests at the banquet, you will be honored and seated in the place of highest respect. 11 “Remember this: everyone with a lofty opinion of who he is and who seeks to raise himself up will be humbled before all. And everyone with a modest opinion of who he is and chooses to humble himself will be raised up before all.” (Luke 14:7-11 TPT)
Respond:
Pride has no place in our lives. Who are you trying to impress? Ask God to help you die to those thoughts. You are already valued because you were created by God. Let this sink in: the Creator of the universe delights in you! Your life matters to Him! In fact, you are so treasured by God that He gave His one and only Son Jesus as a ransom for you, not because of anything you did, but simply because He loves you. Make it your goal to please Him and only Him. We serve God best when we give our lives away for the Gospel. Determine today to love God and 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 18:24
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.