O God, You know my foolishness,
And my guilt is not hidden from You.
May those who hope in You not be ashamed because of me, O Lord God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel. (Psalm 69:5-6)
You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. (Psalm 90:8)
Blessed is the man You discipline, O Lord,
The man You teach from Your word. (Psalm 94:12)
God will not always strive with us,
Nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
Or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His love for those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on His children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:9-13)
We have sinned with our fathers;
We have committed iniquity and acted wickedly. (Psalm 106:6)
Out of the depths I have called to You, O Lord.
O Lord, hear my voice,
And let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared. (Psalm 130:1-4)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts,
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
The ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He examines all his paths. (Proverbs 5:21)
There are six things the Lord hates,
Seven that are detestable to Him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
A false witness who breathes lies,
And one who causes strife among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19)
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Wisdom hates pride and arrogance
And the evil way and the perverse mouth. (Proverbs 8:13)
Adoration
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
Your judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
How priceless is Your lovingkindness, O God!
The children of men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:5-7, 9)
I will praise the name of God in song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:30)
Pause to express your thoughts of praise and worship.
Confession
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
For those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. (Psalm 25:10-11)
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Renewal
My struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, I will put on the full armor of God, so that I may be able to resist in the day of evil, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12-13)
Since I have been raised with Christ, I should seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. May I set my mind on the things above, not on the things on the earth, for I died, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is my life appears, then I also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
Pause to add your own prayers for personal renewal.
Petition
In my distress may I seek the favor of the Lord my God, and humble myself greatly before the God of my fathers, for I know that the Lord is God. (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)
Intercession
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)
Affirmation
In his heart a man plans his way,
But the Lord determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
But it is the counsel of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)
There is no wisdom or understanding
Or counsel that can succeed against the Lord. (Proverbs 21:30)
The word that goes forth from Your mouth
Will not return to You empty
But will accomplish what You desire
And achieve the purpose for which You sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
Pause to reflect upon these biblical affirmations.
Thanksgiving
He who makes me stand firm in Christ and anointed me is God, who also sealed me and gave me the Spirit in my heart as a deposit. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)
Pause to offer your own expressions of thanksgiving.
Closing Prayer
Through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:19-20)
To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Ruth 2
A Guided Tour of the Bible
The sovereign and purposeful hand of God is behind each of the scenes in the Book of Ruth. When Ruth sought to glean in the fields after the reapers, she “happened” to come to the portion of the field belonging to Naomi’s kinsman Boaz. Impressed by what he had heard about Ruth’s commitment to her mother-in-law, Boaz promised to protect her. In addition, Boaz provided for her through his instructions to his men, and it was obvious to Naomi when Ruth returned from the field that someone took notice of her. When she heard it was her kinsman Boaz, the formerly embittered Naomi blessed the Lord for His kindness.
Prayer:
Lord, this wonderful story reminds me that You are at work in ways I cannot predict or imagine. When I am tempted to be embittered at my circumstances, let me remember that You are working all things together for my good and that the only safe refuge is under Your wings.
