A Prayer to Begin Rightly

Lord God, you have told us that the fear of you is where knowledge begins. We confess that we often start somewhere else. We start with our own plans, our own worries, our own sense of what is reasonable, and we ask you to bless what we have already decided. Forgive us.

Teach us to take you seriously. Not to cringe before you, but to remember who you are, holy and good and near. Let that remembrance shape the small decisions of this day, the words we say at work, the way we handle what we own, the way we treat the people who tire us.

We ask for wisdom, because you have promised to give it generously to those who ask. Make us willing to hear it when it comes, even when it comes through someone we would rather not listen to. Keep us from the crowd that promises belonging at the cost of conscience. And as we read Proverbs this week, let us find not just good advice but you. Through Jesus Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom are hidden. Amen.