Praying through the Proverbs – Tuesday, October 30th

Praying through the Proverbs – October 30th
As we stand on the edge of October looking into the month of November, let us reflect on the 4th chapter of the Book of Proverbs:

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=407901582

This Proverb is broken into 2 parts. The first is a reminder from a teacher or parent to a child about the merits of keeping to wisdom and treating “her” well. Here is continued the personification of wisdom as a woman, one who will crown the child if she is treated well. In essence the teacher is saying to use wisdom well in life, to follow the teachings being imparted and the child will live well.

The second part of this Proverb speaks of the two paths that the learner can walk in their lives: the way of the wise or the way of the evildoer. The author furthers the divergence of these paths by likening the wise path to one who walks in daylight,and the path of folly to one who walks at night. One sees where they are going, while the other trips and stumbles to find their way.

While it can seem like there is an initial choice to walk either the path of wisdom or folly, the path of day or night, it is about more than one choice. One may choose a wise course when they wake in the morning, only to find they have veered off it before noon. Our lives are full of diverging paths, and often the choice is not so stark as day and night. Both can seem a twilight, as if the sky is on the edge of either dusk or dawn. Truly listening to the still small voice of God within us – the voice of wisdom – helps us to tell the difference between the two. The good news is that when we have chosen poorly, the voice never stops speaking to us, calling to us.

We are never so lost that God cannot find us. It is never so dark that the light of Christ cannot show us the way. We are never so broken that the Holy Spirit cannot bring us to wholeness. Let today’s prayer be something we carry with us to every fork in the road:

Holy Lord,

Help me, O Lord, I pray. AMEN

Blessings,
Rev. Richard