Week: Justice and Righteousness
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Lord God, we look forward to discovering more of Your wisdom in the Old Testament. Show us the way You want us to live, and help us to walk in it today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on a visit that the Queen of Sheba made to King Solomon, in Jerusalem.
Read by Eli
1 Kings 10:7-9
Queen Sheba said, ‘Your wisdom and wealth are much greater than I had heard. Your men and officers are very lucky, because in always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom. Praise the Lord your God, who was pleased to make you king of Israel. The Lord has constant love for Israel, so he made you king to keep justice and to rule fairly.’
1 Kings 10:7b-9 (NCV)
The Queen of Sheba was very impressed with Solomon and how he was ruling over Israel – she had already heard great things about him, but now she had seen them with her own eyes. What she respected and admired the most wasn’t how much money he had but that he was a king who ruled with justice and fairness. She then gave him loads and loads of gold, jewels, and spices to show him just how appreciated he was.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: If we were King or Queen for the day, what gifts would we give to another leader?
And now we ASK God to help us to be more like King Solomon using these words from Jeremiah 9:24 (NLT).
Lord God, we ASK You to help us to ‘…boast in this alone: that [we] truly know [You] and understand that [You are] the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that [we will] delight in these things…’
God had a plan for King Solomon, to rule with justice and fairness, and this is exactly what he did. God expects this from all leaders.
Lord God, we ASK for Your guidance for leaders; in our schools, churches, local and national authorities, and over our countries and nations. Just as You helped King Solomon to lead with justice and fairness, we ASK that You would share this goodness with all leaders.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
1 Kings 10:7-9
Queen Sheba said, ‘Your wisdom and wealth are much greater than I had heard. Your men and officers are very lucky, because in always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom. Praise the Lord your God, who was pleased to make you king of Israel. The Lord has constant love for Israel, so he made you king to keep justice and to rule fairly.’
1 Kings 10:7b-9 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Creator God, thank you for the wisdom that we’ve heard from Your Word today. We say YES to walking the way that You want us to. And we want to shout out a big YES to being like King Solomon and having the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s see if we can remember our memory verse and say it together:
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Eli is 11 and lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his mum, dad and two younger sisters. He enjoys music, reading, riding his skateboard and playing soccer.
