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
Day 4
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
God wants perfection from us because he loves us. What parent would say to their child, “I want you to obey about 50% of the time because that is about the best I can hope for.”
Good parents are both expectant and realistic. They want 100% obedience because they love their children. They forgive when their children fall short, also because they love their children.
As you remember the data points of what God has done in history…human history and your own personal history it is also important to keep in mind that he is not a task master. He is your Father.
He knows you struggle. He knows you forget what he has done. He knows you lose perspective.
This is a very important data point for your consideration today as you use all available information to try and make sense out of your circumstances… “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
“Fear” means “awesome respect”, reverence and respect. You don’t have to be able to make sense out of all the various components of your life. Keep your eye on a single point when life becomes confusing or difficult… “I only need to be found faithful right now, right here…the rest I will trust to my Father.”
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:
Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves
Proverbs 11:17