The book of Proverbs
Chapter 4
¹ Listen, children, to a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight; ² for I give you good precepts: do not forsake my teaching.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verses 1 to 2)
Oh God my Father, we are Your sons and daughters, we are Your humble servants. Soften our hearts and make us receptive so that we can open our hearts and minds from the fountain of faith humility, love and grace along with spiritual and even material knowledge that flows from You Amen.
³ When I was a son with my father, tender, and my mother's favourite, ⁴ he taught me, and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verses 3 to 4)
Oh God, my beloved Father, when You gave us the commandments and teachings that are found in the New Testament they were intended to guidelines to lead a holy life and not a sinful one that leads to spiritual and physical death Amen. Therefore for all of us who would like to live life as You planned it, the Bible is our manual Amen.
⁵ Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God, my beloved Father, I pray for more and more of Your wisdom and even practical knowledge so that my decisions are based on Your prompting and not only from human intellect. I pray for the presence of Your Holy Spirit who enlightens me especially during moments of need on my behalf and more on that of my clients and significant others Amen.
⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her and she will guard you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God, I pray that You make of me a wise person, who always refers to Your wisdom in every circumstance of life, may you always be my reference point. I strongly believe that You abandon nobody and that it is us mortals who at time abandon You due to our weak and sinful nature Amen. I pray for the Wisdom of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom and whatever else you get, get insight.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 7)
Oh God how beautiful we are when we start using our brains, our God-given intelligence, especially when our objective is that of being of help and service to others Amen. Oh God, my Father, You told us to be wise like the serpent and gentle as the dove. I pray that we learn to use our intelligence in a positive way Amen.
⁸ Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honour you if you embrace her.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God, my Father, if we would only learn to treasure the wisdom that is found in the Bible, the Book that contains the Good News, that the world cannot give Amen.
⁹ She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 9)
Oh God, my beloved Father, in You I have found the greatest of friends, lover of lovers, tower of refuge and support. My life has completely changed since the day You chose to have a relationship with me. I thank You my, God and Father Amen.
¹⁰ Hear my child and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 10)
Oh God my Father to listen to Your Word in this era of many words and voices is already a great challenge, to accept You and Your Word as being the only truth and Your will unfolding is another thing. I pray that You strengthen our faith, my God and Father Amen.
¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 11)
Oh God, my beloved Father, You are indeed a Father to me. From the day I was born to the present and future days, You have been guiding me in Your ways. You have been assisting me in the decisions that I needed to make throughout the years. I thank you for being always by my side even though at times I did not experience Your presence. Amen.
¹² When you walk your step will not be hampered; and if you run, you will not stumble.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 12)
Oh God my beloved Father as You know I have a bad habit of rushing into situations, and that at times I am very emotional. I pray that You keep me under Your control and that You keep on guiding me in my day to day decisions Amen.
¹³ Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 13)
Oh God, my blessed Father every time I am in prayer You teach me something new that strengthens my soul. This is why I cannot live without meditating on Your Word, the entire Bible. I love it so much that I wish it will always be alive in me Amen.
¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 14)
Oh God, my Father, this is no easy task to undertake for I still am human and many times the evil one gets the best of me and I am so weak that I willfully accept the temptation. My greatest moment of weakness is during prayer time when I am online. I pray for You support during such moments Amen. Thanks, Jesus.
¹⁵ Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 15)
Oh God my Father, by means of this verse You are giving me many options from which to choose when harassed by temptation;
The first option is to avoid, however, this does not mean to deny that it is not there, to avoid is to be aware of the evil so much as to make a willful choice not to take the option.
The second is a direct command and not a choice. It is not enough to avoid but to make a willful choice to decide not to follow the ways of evil, on my own I may not be strong enough, however with Your power and grace this is possible.
Turn away from it; this is also a command, now that Your and my will is determined not to follow evil but set on doing good just do it and go out of that sinful website, just do it!
Pass on, now that we are strong in spirit and our will is positively conditioned to do good and avoid evil we can raise up our eyes towards heaven and pass on. Amen.
¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 16)
²² For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 22)
Oh God, my Father, Your words are the medicine that heals both the body and the soul, so much that I cannot live without them. I pray that You or others never deny me of the opportunity to reflect on Your Holy Words Amen.
²³ Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the spring of life.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 23)
Oh, my beloved counsellor, Your words are always true. Keeping check of my emotions is very important for I still have hurts that You are healing me of. I pray that You help me in keeping control over myself Amen.
²⁴ Put away from your crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 24)
Father of love truth and honesty, You would like us to be likewise in our daily interactions. May the truth be always on our lips, even if saying the truth may get us into trouble. The truth sets us free Amen.
²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 25)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that we always look forward and proceed ahead instead of being stuck in our past that may be holding us from moving ahead in our lives. God has forgiven us from all of our sins. He has permitted us to crucify Him to obtain our redemption. Now that God has forgiven us it is time for us to forgive ourselves Amen
²⁶ Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 26)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that we keep our focus on You even if the stressors of life, try to hinder us from walking according to Your ways. May we be aware of negative forces and cultures that make our lives challenging to live. May we be aware of the effect of the media and of peer pressure especially when it comes to making important decisions Amen
Oh God, my Father, I would like to end this meditation on the fourth chapter of the book of Proverbs with the following prayer:-
Oh God, my Father I pray for the ability to see like You, think like You and also behave like You. I pray that You make me aware of the evil spirits that are always ready to cause me harm by persuading me to walk according to the ways of the world Amen. I pray that You protect the world from such evil forces Amen
³ When I was a son with my father, tender, and my mother's favourite, ⁴ he taught me, and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verses 3 to 4)
Oh God, my beloved Father, when You gave us the commandments and teachings that are found in the New Testament they were intended to guidelines to lead a holy life and not a sinful one that leads to spiritual and physical death Amen. Therefore for all of us who would like to live life as You planned it, the Bible is our manual Amen.
⁵ Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 5)
Oh God, my beloved Father, I pray for more and more of Your wisdom and even practical knowledge so that my decisions are based on Your prompting and not only from human intellect. I pray for the presence of Your Holy Spirit who enlightens me especially during moments of need on my behalf and more on that of my clients and significant others Amen.
⁶ Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her and she will guard you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 6)
Oh God, I pray that You make of me a wise person, who always refers to Your wisdom in every circumstance of life, may you always be my reference point. I strongly believe that You abandon nobody and that it is us mortals who at time abandon You due to our weak and sinful nature Amen. I pray for the Wisdom of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
⁷ The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom and whatever else you get, get insight.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 7)
Oh God how beautiful we are when we start using our brains, our God-given intelligence, especially when our objective is that of being of help and service to others Amen. Oh God, my Father, You told us to be wise like the serpent and gentle as the dove. I pray that we learn to use our intelligence in a positive way Amen.
⁸ Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honour you if you embrace her.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God, my Father, if we would only learn to treasure the wisdom that is found in the Bible, the Book that contains the Good News, that the world cannot give Amen.
⁹ She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 9)
Oh God, my beloved Father, in You I have found the greatest of friends, lover of lovers, tower of refuge and support. My life has completely changed since the day You chose to have a relationship with me. I thank You my, God and Father Amen.
¹⁰ Hear my child and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 10)
Oh God my Father to listen to Your Word in this era of many words and voices is already a great challenge, to accept You and Your Word as being the only truth and Your will unfolding is another thing. I pray that You strengthen our faith, my God and Father Amen.
¹¹ I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 11)
Oh God, my beloved Father, You are indeed a Father to me. From the day I was born to the present and future days, You have been guiding me in Your ways. You have been assisting me in the decisions that I needed to make throughout the years. I thank you for being always by my side even though at times I did not experience Your presence. Amen.
¹² When you walk your step will not be hampered; and if you run, you will not stumble.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 12)
Oh God my beloved Father as You know I have a bad habit of rushing into situations, and that at times I am very emotional. I pray that You keep me under Your control and that You keep on guiding me in my day to day decisions Amen.
¹³ Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 13)
Oh God, my blessed Father every time I am in prayer You teach me something new that strengthens my soul. This is why I cannot live without meditating on Your Word, the entire Bible. I love it so much that I wish it will always be alive in me Amen.
¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 14)
Oh God, my Father, this is no easy task to undertake for I still am human and many times the evil one gets the best of me and I am so weak that I willfully accept the temptation. My greatest moment of weakness is during prayer time when I am online. I pray for You support during such moments Amen. Thanks, Jesus.
¹⁵ Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 15)
Oh God my Father, by means of this verse You are giving me many options from which to choose when harassed by temptation;
The first option is to avoid, however, this does not mean to deny that it is not there, to avoid is to be aware of the evil so much as to make a willful choice not to take the option.
The second is a direct command and not a choice. It is not enough to avoid but to make a willful choice to decide not to follow the ways of evil, on my own I may not be strong enough, however with Your power and grace this is possible.
Turn away from it; this is also a command, now that Your and my will is determined not to follow evil but set on doing good just do it and go out of that sinful website, just do it!
Pass on, now that we are strong in spirit and our will is positively conditioned to do good and avoid evil we can raise up our eyes towards heaven and pass on. Amen.
¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 16)
Oh God, my beloved Father, there are people who like myself at the present moment are finding it hard to sleep, while there are others who obtain their rest only when they have made the lives of others a mess or a living hell. I pray for both the victims and even the perpetrators Amen.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 17 to 18)
Oh God my Father, when we aim to fulfil negative actions, we end up facing the consequences of such actions and rightly so for our intention was not good from the beginning Amen.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 19)
Oh God, my Father, brothers and sisters how precious is God's light and his ways. When we shut our minds and hearts to His ways we end up in pitch darkness, so dark that we no longer know where we are or where we are heading for. We get mixed up even in our perception and awareness and we end up not even being able to recognize good acts from bad ones. I pray that we be always guided by Your ways my God and Father Amen.
²⁰ My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ears to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verses 20 to 21)
Oh God, my Father, I will process every word You mean to tell me. I will treasure them like gold coins and keep them in the treasure chest of my heart under lock and key.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 17 to 18)
Oh God my Father, when we aim to fulfil negative actions, we end up facing the consequences of such actions and rightly so for our intention was not good from the beginning Amen.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 19)
Oh God, my Father, brothers and sisters how precious is God's light and his ways. When we shut our minds and hearts to His ways we end up in pitch darkness, so dark that we no longer know where we are or where we are heading for. We get mixed up even in our perception and awareness and we end up not even being able to recognize good acts from bad ones. I pray that we be always guided by Your ways my God and Father Amen.
²⁰ My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ears to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verses 20 to 21)
Oh God, my Father, I will process every word You mean to tell me. I will treasure them like gold coins and keep them in the treasure chest of my heart under lock and key.
²² For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 22)
Oh God, my Father, Your words are the medicine that heals both the body and the soul, so much that I cannot live without them. I pray that You or others never deny me of the opportunity to reflect on Your Holy Words Amen.
²³ Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the spring of life.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 23)
Oh, my beloved counsellor, Your words are always true. Keeping check of my emotions is very important for I still have hurts that You are healing me of. I pray that You help me in keeping control over myself Amen.
²⁴ Put away from your crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 24)
Father of love truth and honesty, You would like us to be likewise in our daily interactions. May the truth be always on our lips, even if saying the truth may get us into trouble. The truth sets us free Amen.
²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 25)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that we always look forward and proceed ahead instead of being stuck in our past that may be holding us from moving ahead in our lives. God has forgiven us from all of our sins. He has permitted us to crucify Him to obtain our redemption. Now that God has forgiven us it is time for us to forgive ourselves Amen
²⁶ Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
(Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 verse 26)
Oh God, my Father, I pray that we keep our focus on You even if the stressors of life, try to hinder us from walking according to Your ways. May we be aware of negative forces and cultures that make our lives challenging to live. May we be aware of the effect of the media and of peer pressure especially when it comes to making important decisions Amen
Oh God, my Father, I would like to end this meditation on the fourth chapter of the book of Proverbs with the following prayer:-
Oh God, my Father I pray for the ability to see like You, think like You and also behave like You. I pray that You make me aware of the evil spirits that are always ready to cause me harm by persuading me to walk according to the ways of the world Amen. I pray that You protect the world from such evil forces Amen
