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 28
Reflect:
Proverbs 28:7
7 A discerning son heeds instruction,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
There are times when we all can lack discernment; there are simply areas in our lives in which we don’t see clearly. We may even be blind to certain things. I think that’s why it’s important for us to have others who can speak into our lives and offer instruction. It’s important too that the ones speaking into our lives are like-hearted and like-minded; in other words, followers of Christ as well.
Criticism, when rightly offered by others and applied to our lives, can help us heed God’s will for us. Several situations come to mind in which certain behaviors I had were critiqued. I will tell you it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to hear, but it needed to be said. I had a choice to make: would I heed the criticism or not? Without going into all the details, I’ll just say this: my life and my family’s life are far better today because I chose to receive and act on the criticism.
Community with like-minded believers it is a wonderful thing to have in our lives! Having people in our lives who are willing to speak truth that’s in line with God’s Word is a blessing.
Respond:
Do you have others who are willing to speak wisdom into your life? If the answer is no, why not? Are you afraid of receiving criticism? What’s valued in our proverb is discernment, the quality of a person who pays attention, understands and is willing to heed a critique in line with God’s Word. The choice is ours: will we choose the discerning path or will we choose to be the companion of gluttons?
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 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.