Wise Decisions in Life
(Prayer Walk thro Prov 17-21)
Backgrounder: The purpose
of Proverbs is to teach people
how to apply wisdom to daily
life & to provide moral instruction.
The varied statements of common
sense in today’s reading are
descriptions of the perils facing
the wise and the unwise. Through
it all, Solomon sees God at work
in the hearts & affairs of people,
helping them to avoid flattery
and falsehood and to display
obedient behavior instead.
Dear Lord, You want us to make
Wise Decisions & Be Obedient
to You. Help us to Be Cheerful;
Encourage Others; Overlook
Wrongs & Do What’s Right. Amen
Lord, we purpose to Be Cheerful:
A cheerful heart is good
medicine but a broken spirit saps
a person’s strength (Prov 17:22).
Lord, I want to have a cheerful
heart and not a broken spirit.
Help me to focus on you and
not on the circumstances I see
around me. As you help me to
do that by your Spirit, I will know
and experience your true joy
in my heart and life. Amen.
Lord, we will Edify & Encourage:
What a shame, what folly, to give
advice before listening to the facts!
Words satisfy the soul as food
satisfies the stomach; the right
words on a person’s lips bring
satisfaction. Those who love to talk
will experience the consequences,
for the tongue can kill or nourish
life (Proverbs 18:13 & 20-21).
Lord, keep me from jumping into
conclusions & becoming involved
in folly. And Give me the right
words to speak, words that will
satisfy the soul of the listener.
Let my words encourage and not
discourage those who hear them.
Help my tongue to nourish life
and not to kill it. Best of all,
help me to encourage others
to be encouragers. Amen.
Lord, help us Overlook Wrongs:
People with good sense restrain
their anger; they earn esteem by
overlooking wrongs (Prov 19:11).
Lord, help us to forgive others
in light of the unconditional love
we have found in You. When others
wrong me, help me remember
all the times you reached down
and covered my wrongs with
Your mercy. Help me see past
my anger & resolve disagreement
with grace. Help me to measure
my words and actions before
I speak or act. Amen.
Lord, help us Do What’s Right:
Every way of a man is right
in his own eyes; but the Lord
weighs the hearts … The Lord
is more pleased when we do
what is just and right than
when we give sacrifice (P21:2-3).
Lord, in all the decisions and
choices that I face each day,
help me to walk in obedience
to you and thus walk in integrity.
Empower me by your Spirit to
do what is just and right so that
I’m living a life that pleases you
and reflects yr character. Amen.
Dear Lord, You want us to make
Wise Decisions & Be Obedient to U:
Help us have cheerful heart, focus
on you & not on the circumstances.
Help us Encourage others by giving
the right words to edify the listener.
Help us to Overlook Wrongs,
forgive others & resolve conflicts
with grace and measured words.
Help us Do What’s just and Right
so that in our decisions we please
you and reflect your character.
We commit again with all we’re
For we are yours forever!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.