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 20
Reflect:
Proverbs 20:19
19 The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;
avoid someone with a big mouth.
Have you ever been around someone who continually talks about others or speaks in a way that sheds a bad light on others? It’s like they never have anything good to say about anyone. To make it even worse, if the subject of the gossip is in front of them, the gossiper will be jovial and engaging. But as soon as he or she walks away, the gossiper rolls their eyes and starts in, “You know what they did, right? Oh man, let me tell you.…” This is all kinds of wrong! It’s a passive-aggressive way of saying, “I’m better than them, for I would never have done something so (you fill in the blank).” It’s a prideful, underhanded way of puffing oneself up at the expense of another. And if you remember from earlier devotions, pride is at the root of most, if not all, of our sin.
Gossips share things with others that they have no business sharing, especially if that information has been shared in confidence. With this in mind, it is a good time to think about the things we discuss with others. What we do and say around others can be quite revealing. I wonder if gossips ever think about what others may be thinking? Here’s what I mean: If I’m around someone who runs their mouth a lot about others, it always makes me wonder what they say about me when I’m not around. Our speech patterns are generally the same regardless of who we’re talking to. It’s best to stay away from these kinds of people; the less contact we have with them, the better.
We certainly should be aware of gossips, but more importantly, we need to make sure that we’re not a gossip! When the Lord spoke to Moses and handed down the laws of holiness (see Leviticus 19), God had Moses tell the people, “‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” (verse 2) Moses would go on from there and list the things that please God and what it would look like for the people to be holy. One of the things God stated was for His people not to go about spreading slander among the people. (Leviticus 19:16)
Respond:
If you’re prone to gossip, stop! Whether you are the one who’s doing the gossiping or the one who eats up gossip like little morsels, both are wrong and do not please the Lord. Make Psalm 19:14 your goal: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (NASB)
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 11:25
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.