June 13, 2023 - Proverbs‬ ‭8:13

“The Fear-of- GOD means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion— pride and arrogance and crooked talk.” Proverbs 8:13 MSG

Lord, we so want to walk in the Fear-of-GOD. Proverbs 1:7, 9:10 & Ps 111:10 all say it is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. Proverbs 14:27 says it is the fountain of life and 19:23 says it will satisfy us. Ps 25:14 says you are a friend to those who fear you. Lord, we want all these things in our lives. These verses say they are released to us through the Fear of the Lord.

If the Fear of the Lord means hating evil, then help us learn to hate evil. Open our eyes to places we tolerate evil in our lives. Where needed inspire us to raise our standards and rid our life of any evil. Purify us and remove the things you despise.

Today, we specifically want to focus on the three things listed in this verse that you hate with a passion: pride, arrogance, and crooked talk. Since you really hate these three things, we want to hate them too. Let us not tolerate them in our lives for even a moment. Let us see them and quickly change our behavior to the opposite. Make us people of humility.

Lord, we ask that you help us guard our tongues. Let nothing displeasing to you come out. Let telling even little white lies tear us up inside. Help us speak the truth all the time. Help us always speak life and words that bring glory to your name. Let complaining and negative talk not be something that we allow.

We ask for forgiveness for any places in our lives where we have allowed pride, arrogance, lying, negative or complaining talk to be. Please forgive us and help us replace those behaviors with behaviors pleasing to you. Lord, we want to truly hate evil the same way you do. We want to learn to walk in the Fear of the Lord. Help us grow greatly in this.

In Jesus name, amen.