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 16
Reflect:
Proverbs 16:7
7 When a person’s ways please the Lord,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
“When a person’s ways please the Lord….” Think about that and let it sink in. A person’s ways—a lifestyle, the decisions made, good choices that please the Lord—are the kinds of actions that will help us live at peace with others. Even those who are at odds with you will find it hard to want to attack you. We’re talking about a lifestyle that disarms a foe, even winning them over to yourself. This lifestyle starts and ends with a life lived in and for the righteousness of God.
Now let me be clear: this is not a universal promise that if we do this, we’ll have no enemies. It’s a general principle that should guide our actions. The writer of Hebrews understood this and encouraged his readers to, “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it, no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 CSB)
After laying out the facts of the Gospel, Paul continued to challenge Roman believers to live in a transformational way that was counter to the prevailing culture. They would live their lives with Christ at the center, and this would be a way of offering a living sacrifice to God. Paul would challenge them to, if at all possible and as much as it depends on them, live at peace with each other. (see Romans 12)
Respond:
Determine to live life in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. I don’t know what you will face today but I do know this: we can face anything with the power of the Gospel. Christ will strengthen us so we can stand up to any trial that comes our way.
Let Romans 8:31-39 encourage you today. “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these [Gospel truths]? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 NLT)
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 13:15
Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction.