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Bible Book(s)/Chapter(s) to read for week 22: Sunday, November 17 to Saturday, November 23, 2024.
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November 15, 2024
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Here are the Bible Book(s)/Chapter(s) to read each day this week. Note that the readings are based on the New American Bible.
Proverbs Chapters 6-10
Read Proverbs 6:6-11 again.
Ask God to help us to acquire wisdom by observing all of God’s marvelous creatures.
Take a moment to think about how various animals, birds, fish and insects make homes for themselves. Then, think about how they get food for themselves and for their young. Is there a lesson you can apply to your own life from what you’ve observed in nature?
Proverbs Chapters 11-15
Read Proverbs 11:13 again.
Ask God to help us to keep confidences confidential.
Do you belong to a small faith community or to some other sort of support group? Are the private stories shared in such groups kept private by other group members?
Proverbs Chapters 16-19
Read Proverbs 16:1 again.
Ask God to help us to follow God’s lead and surrender control of our own life plans so that God can replace them with even better ones.
After spending much time and effort on your spiritual growth, do you ever notice that you are doing things, or saying things, that you never thought that you could do or say?
Proverbs Chapters 20-23
Read Proverbs 20:5 and 20:11-12 again.
Ask God to help us to use the gifts of our senses, intellect and spirit to discern the characters and needs of others.
What can we learn about others by observing their tone of voice, posture or expression? What else do you think that the writer suggested in Proverbs 20:5 that could be done to get to know others better?
Proverbs Chapters 24-27
Read Proverbs 25:28 again.
When encountering stressful situations, people can react impulsively or act thoughtfully and carefully. Tongues are like cars on a highway. By one moment’s inattention, the driver of a car can destroy many lives. Likewise, one careless word can lead to the destruction of many relationships.
Ask God to help us to speak, and to hear, in a thoughtful way.
Do you think that all people are capable of controlling what they say? Do you think that all people are capable of controlling what they hear?
Proverbs Chapters 28-31
Read Proverbs 30:28 again.
Remember that Moses, Gideon and King David were considered by humans to be too weak, too young or too inarticulate to do any good work, but God used them to do great things.
Read Philippians 4:13 and ask God to help us to rely on God’s strength, and not our own strength, when knocking on the “palace doors” in our lives.
Is God calling you into some “king’s palace”? Are you afraid that you don’t have what it takes to achieve what God is calling you to do?
Ecclesiastes Chapters 1-6
Read Ecclesiastes 2:15, 2:18, 2:22 and 3:19 again.
The author of Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth, seemed to be someone experiencing some form of depression. In the verses mentioned above, we see the author focused on the question, “What’s in it for me?” Jesus, however, tells us that we must focus on God and on God’s kingdom (John 12:24-26).
Ask God to help those who suffer from depression to see the good purpose of their lives.
Try to imagine the prayer life of Qoheleth. Do you think that he prayed at all? Do you think he spent time praising God? Do you think that he prayed for the intentions of other people or just for his own?
A version of this story appeared in the November 17, 2024, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "God’s strength, not our own, gives wisdom".
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