VERSE: Proverbs 20:22–Do not say, “I will repay evil.” Wait for the Lord and He will save You. TRUTH: Do we try to deal with evil on our own? We must realize that the Lord is over all, not us. We are not the ones who are responsible for dealing with the evil in this world. That is the responsibility of God. We are to wait for Him and He will take responsibility for saving us. RESPONSE: Father, I love You and even in the midst of experiencing evil, I will trust You and wait for Your solution. Patience is hard for me, so I need Your help to see…

VERSE: Proverbs 19:20–Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days. TRUTH: No one enjoys receiving criticism or critique, yet those who listen to it and accept what truth there may be in it, will be made wise in what they do. Do we listen to the counsel of others and are we seeking to increase in wisdom? To do that, we must be willing to accept the counsel and discipline of others. RESPONSE: Father, I know I’m not perfect, but I don’t often like to have my shortfalls pointed out by others. I confess my pride to You, knowing that You will…

VERSE: Proverbs 18:21–Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. TRUTH: The tongue is extremely powerful. With it, we can speak words of life or death to those we are around. We must take care that we are using our words wisely for we will be held responsible for the impact of the words that we say. Are we using our tongue to spread life and encouragement to all, or does our tongue share death and discouragement and pain to those we speak to? RESPONSE: Father, this tongue of mine is so powerful and it is so difficult to…

VERSE: Proverbs 17:27–He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. TRUTH: Showing restraint and a calm spirit demonstrates wisdom to people. When we allow our words to just run free and say whatever with no thought as to the consequences, then all we are doing is displaying our foolishness for the whole world to see. Remaining calm in situations shows to others that we have understanding and restraint and wisdom. Are we sharing wisdom with our words and actions? RESPONSE: Father, I pray You will forgive me for the times when I have lacked restraint. I desire You and…

VERSE: Proverbs 16:2–All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives. TRUTH: We have a tendency to look only at what we’ve done and judge ourselves based on that. However, God looks at why we did it and judges us on our motives. The motives are truly the measure of each one of us and they say a lot about who we are and where our heart is. The Lord sees all our motives and weighs them out. Where do we end up when the Lord weighs out our motives? Do our motives please Him and reflect His love and grace?…

VERSE: Proverbs 15:16–Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it. TRUTH: As long as we have the fear of the Lord, we have more than the richest person on earth. If we have great treasure, but also have strife and turmoil with it, that does us no good. Are we valuing that which is really important, our relationship with the Lord, or are we placing our trust in things? RESPONSE: Father, I love You and praise You for all that You have provided for me. I will treasure You above all other things including money and success.

VERSE: Proverbs 14:27–The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. TRUTH: Do we feel a fountain of life filling up inside us and giving us strength and vigor for each new day? Trusting in the Lord and allowing Him to have control of our lives is just that refreshing! If we fear the Lord and put our whole trust and faith in Him, this verse states that the result is a fountain of life. A fountain is active and fresh, allowing revitalizing water to flow to every part continually. Without it this fountain of life, we find ourselves surrounded by the…

VERSE: Proverbs 13:3–The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. TRUTH: Our mouth can have a tendency to fly open and say all kinds of things that will bring a person to ruin. I like the picture that is portrayed in this verse of a guard standing watch by the mouth, keeping the mouth from going too far or saying too much. This guard preserves the life and reputation of the mouth. Have we set up a guard over our mouth that can prompt us when we say too much, or help us to keep our mouth in check…