Proverbs 15 This chapter continues to exhort us to live the life of righteousness and to gain knowledge and wisdom through the fear of the Lord and by His Word.  There are several topics that strike me as something I need to meditate on:

1. Prayer -
Verse 8 " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the righteous is His delight."
 Verse 29  " The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous." 
We are reminded in verse 3 that the Lord is watching, He sees the evil and the good, and in verse 11 we are told that the "hearts of men"  are open before the Lord.  He knows those who just go through the motions of going to church, acting like they are worshipping the Lord, but whose hearts are far from Him.  Their gifts and offerings are meaningless, and even more, they are an "abomination" - they are disgusting to Him. That is a strong word! Consider the fact that in Leviticus 18 the Lord commands the Israelites not to commit the abominations of the Egyptians and other nations, listing every kind of sexual immorality you could imagine.  Being a hypocrite, playing church, is just as disgusting to God as those things.
Yet, the good news is that those who love and serve the Lord with genuine worship are "His delight"!
He hears our prayers.  He sees our hearts and knows our deepest needs.

Lord, help us to serve You with pure hearts and clean hands, in genuine faith and in the fear of the Lord.

2.  Our well-being- Living a life of righteousness and faith effects us physically and emotionally as well as spiritually.
Verse 13 " A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken." 
Verse 15 " All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast." 
Verse 30 " Bright eyes gladden the heart; good news puts fat on the bones." 

We are not surprised any more by the prominence of depression and suicide in our society.  The rich and the poor, it doesn't matter; the young and the old.. makes no difference.  Without the Lord, there is no joy, no satisfaction, and no hope. Our world continues to chase the wind.  There is a great need for the Truth of God's Word to be preached! For only in Jesus can there be real joy!

3.  Again there are many references to our mouths, our words, in this chapter.
Verse 1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but  a harsh word stirs anger." 
Verse 2, " The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly."
Verse 4 "A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit." 
Verse 7 "The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not so." 
Verse 14 "The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of the fool feeds on folly." 
Verse 23 "A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word." 
Verse 26 "Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord, but pleasant words are pure." 
Verse 28 "The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. " 

As people of God, followers of Christ, our words need to become more like our Shepherd's - gentle, reasonable, wise, apt, delightful, pure and pleasant, thoughtful.  The proverbs also address the necessity of discipline and reproof  (v5, 10,31 and 32); and  counsel (v22).  We receive the "instruction for wisdom" and the "fear of the Lord "  We listen and learn and then we are to live it out in our homes and workplaces, in our cities and nations.  And so I pray:

Father in heaven, great and Mighty are You in all the earth. You see our hearts, they are open before You.  You know our weaknesses, our failures, and our greatest needs.   I ask You Father, to give us pure hearts to worship You in spirit and in truth.  I pray that our prayers would be delightful to You and that we will know that You hear us.  I pray for hearts of joy and satisfaction in You.  And I ask that You will take our bodies, living sacrifices.. acceptable sacrifices... for all that we are belongs to You.  Take our mouths and transform us, by the renewing of our minds, so that rivers of living water will flow from us in all gentleness, purity, and wisdom.  Thank You for the indwelling Spirit and for the mind of Christ, to whom we yield and in whose name we pray. Amen.