Proverbs Devotional 10.6.20

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 6

Reflect:

For October, I’d like you to simply read slowly through the entire proverb each day. Think about the verses that have stood out to you over this year, the things God has spoken to you about, and the wisdom that was revealed to you. Use this time as a summary review of our time together over the last nine months.

As you read the Proverbs, you’ll notice that they are comprised of different translations. My hope is that doing this will help you to read Proverbs afresh. Following the reading is a short prayer that sums up the proverb. God Bless!

Proverbs 6 (MSG)
Like a Deer from the Hunter
^1-5 Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neigh­bor
or locked your­self into a deal with a stranger,
If you’ve im­pul­sively promised the shirt off your back
and now find your­self shiv­er­ing out in the cold,
Friend, don’t waste a minute, get your­self out of that mess.
You’re in that man’s clutches!
Go, put on a long face; act des­per­ate.
Don’t pro­cras­ti­nate—
there’s no time to lose.
Run like a deer from the hunter,
fly like a bird from the trap­per!

 A Les­son from the Ant
^6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant.
Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
No­body has to tell it what to do.
All sum­mer it stores up food;
at har­vest it stock­piles pro­vi­sions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing noth­ing?
How long be­fore you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look for­ward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your per­ma­nent house­guest!

 Al­ways Cook­ing Up Some­thing Nasty
^12-15 Riffraff and ras­cals
talk out of both sides of their mouths.
They wink at each other, they shuf­fle their feet,
they cross their fin­gers be­hind their backs.
Their per­verse minds are al­ways cook­ing up some­thing nasty,
al­ways stir­ring up trou­ble.
Cat­a­stro­phe is just around the cor­ner for them,
a total smashup, their lives ru­ined be­yond re­pair. 

Seven Things God Hates
^16-19 Here are six things God hates,
and one more that he loathes with a pas­sion:
eyes that are ar­ro­gant,
a tongue that lies,
hands that mur­der the in­no­cent,
a heart that hatches evil plots,
feet that race down a wicked track,
a mouth that lies under oath,
a trou­ble­maker in the fam­ily.

 Warn­ing on Adul­tery
^20-23 Good friend, fol­low your fa­ther’s good ad­vice;
don’t wan­der off from your mother’s teach­ings.
Wrap your­self in them from head to foot;
wear them like a scarf around your neck.
Wher­ever you walk, they’ll guide you;
when­ever you rest, they’ll guard you;
when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.
For sound ad­vice is a bea­con,
good teach­ing is a light,
moral dis­ci­pline is a life path.

^24-35 They’ll pro­tect you from wan­ton women,
from the se­duc­tive talk of some temptress.
Don’t lust­fully fan­ta­size on her beauty,
nor be taken in by her bed­room eyes.
You can buy an hour with a whore for a loaf of bread,
but a wan­ton woman may well eat you alive.
Can you build a fire in your lap
and not burn your pants?
Can you walk bare­foot on hot coals
and not get blis­ters?
It’s the same when you have sex with your neigh­bor’s wife:
Touch her and you’ll pay for it. No ex­cuses.
Hunger is no ex­cuse for a thief to steal;
When he’s caught he has to pay it back,
even if he has to put his whole house in hock.
Adul­tery is a brain­less act,
soul-de­stroy­ing, self-de­struc­tive;
Ex­pect a bloody nose, a black eye,
and a rep­u­ta­tion ru­ined for good.
For jeal­ousy det­o­nates rage in a cheated hus­band;
wild for re­venge, he won’t make al­lowances.
Noth­ing you say or pay will make it all right;
nei­ther bribes nor rea­son will sat­isfy him.

 Respond:

Father, I pray You have set me free from the trappings of this world. Help me today not to be lazy. I don’t want to be a slacker, but instead, I want to honor You in all that I do. As I move about today, I pray You would protect me from those who want to drag me down and entangle me in their sin. Help me to humbly walk before You, to speak truth, to let my yes be yes. Please protect my mind from sexual temptation. Father, I give You today. My desire is to honor You in all that I do. Amen.

 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 24:10