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
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved… (Ephesians 2:1-5)
At Advent, we celebrate the reality that, while we were dead in our sin, lost and without hope in a broken and dying world, God sent his only Son to give us new life. While we were going along living in rebellion against God with nothing good or pleasing to offer Him, He saved us. No work of our own could remedy our love problem, so God did the work Himself. This is love.
Take a moment to reflect on your “death to life” encounter with Jesus and praise Him for His wondrous love and work in your life.
Take a moment to confess to Jesus the areas of brokenness and need that remain in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit – through this very same grace, love, and power – to continue to sow the newness of fullness of life in you. Acknowledge that you trust Him to do the work. Now, join Him this day.
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:
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 18:8