Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).
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Opening
Speak these words out loud:
The Lord has established Zion,
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.
from Isaiah 14.32
Today’s Proverb
Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright. (NIV)
Knowledge is spread by people who are wise, not by fools. (GNB)
Proverbs 15.7
This one caught me off-guard. Solomon starts out by talking about lips, and ends up talking about the heart. What’s going on? Did he need a biology lesson?
When Jesus was challenged about his disciples not following the purification rituals of the day, he quoted these words from Isaiah:
“These people honour me with their lips,
Mark 7.6-7 (quoting Isaiah 29:13)
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.”
He went on to argue that the problem isn’t what we do, say, or eat, or the way we clean (or don’t clean) ourselves (though in these days of COVID-19, please wash your hands!). All those things are symptoms: as many have said, at the heart of the human problem is the human heart.
We need to pay attention to, and make sure our hearts are aligned with and open to God’s Word and Spirit. Then this proverb will be true of us: our lips will spread wisdom and knowledge – the knowledge that really matters, knowledge of God, his kingdom, his love, and his forgiveness.
To ignore this truth is to be a fool. To learn from it, to fill our hearts with Jesus through Scripture and prayer, Jesus who transforms for the better our thoughts, our behaviour, and our words – that is wisdom.
Prayers
Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.
Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:
Kath Hastilow, Michael Ackroyd, Pauline Sawle
Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.
We also pray for: Marriages & Family Life
Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves.
Church Family Prayer
Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Closing Prayer
Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.
Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6
May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.