Proverbs Devotional 8.22.20

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 22

Reflect:

Proverbs 22:11

¹¹ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.

“One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace….” Now that’s a challenging set of words! A pure heart and grace-filled words together can have a powerful impact on the people we engage with daily. Think about culture today. Honestly, it’s not much different than culture back in the 1st century. A pure heart and grace-filled words were counter-intuitive to the culture of the day. So unusual was this new morality that those around Christ’s followers couldn’t help but notice, even if they were blind to its source.

Christ alone is the source of this new morality. Like Paul, we can rejoice in the Lord because of the work of Christ in our lives. We have been saved by God’s grace through faith, and this is not from ourselves, it’s a gift of God! (See Ephesians 2:8) Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. That is the transformational power of the Gospel. That is powerful! In fact, it’s so powerful that the things of this world pale in comparison.

The Gospel empowers us. We no longer walk in the lower nature, the world’s morality that only hardens our hearts. The Gospel enables us to shed that old self which is being corrupted by deceitful desires, renew our minds in Christ, and put on this new self; the one that’s created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth. This new life starts the moment we place our faith in Christ. We no longer have to walk in darkness, but we can walk in the light that illuminates all that represents goodness, righteousness, and truth. That is reason enough to shout “Halleluiah!”

 Respond:

“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. ¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. ¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life.” (Philippians 2:12–16 NLT). Let Paul’s words encourage you today as you lean into having a pure heart and speaking words of grace.

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 11:25