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
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
The logic of John’s argument in this passage in 1 John 4 goes like this: 1) God is love; 2) Those who truly know God through Christ know love; 3) Those who know God’s love should love one another. The natural and necessary fruit of God’s love in your life is love for your neighbor. This connection is so natural and necessary that John argues that a Christian who does not love ought to question whether or not they are a Christian at all! Love has a natural and necessary order: it comes from God to us and then goes through us to others.
Who are you going to see today? Your spouse? Your kids? Your co-workers? Your neighbors? A stranger behind the register at the grocery store? Set your intention toward loving those people today. Pause for a few minutes and pray for those people by name. Ask God to show you tangible ways to love them. Create a tangible way to love them, no matter how small. Now, go and do it, and look for an opportunity to point to Christ as you go.
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