Pray in 2017- Day 10- Wisdom and Knowledge
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:6 ESV)
Day 10- Wisdom and Knowledge
For the last nine days, we have been taking stock and cleaning out. Now we are prepared, with our clean hearts, to look forward into what the Lord will have for us in 2017.
Here is the challenge: when I look at the new year, how do I decide what to attempt and where I should place my priorities? There are just too many choices.
In order to choose from the myriad of needs, opportunities, and options, I need wisdom, and I need a lot of it.
- The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10 ESV)
Wisdom and knowledge walk hand in hand, all through Scripture. If I want either one of them, and especially if I want both, I must start with the Lord. He is the source of all I need to know.
- that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3 ESV)
To dive deep into wisdom and knowledge, I must plunge headlong into Jesus, for these treasures are hidden in Him.
- He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones. (Prov 2:7)
As I move into a new year, I don’t have any idea what lies ahead. There could be challenges or opportunities I can’t yet imagine which require wisdom. Maybe a health crisis awaits. Possibly a business opportunity will present itself. Or an problem with a child could look unsolvable. What good news that God has stored up all the wisdom I will need. Whenever that tipping point arrives, and I don’t have what I need for the moment, I just turn to my Lord.
- Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?" (2 Chronicles 1:10 ESV)
2 Chronicles 1:10 is Solomon's prayer when he became King. He knew he was in over his head Instead of riches or military might, he asked God for wisdom and knowledge. God heard his prayers and answered them.
- To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter." (Daniel 2:23 ESV)
Daniel also was a man who needed God’s wisdom when he had to answer the impossible demand of a pagan King. He prayed for wisdom and God answered with complete insight.
- that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:17-18 ESV)
God gives us enlightenment. He wants us to fully understand the richness of our relationship with Him. He doesn’t cloak Himself behind mysteries or riddles. When we ask the Lord for the wisdom and knowledge to know Him better, He is ready to give what we need.
- Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33 ESV)
I can never plumb the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of my Lord. But that inexhaustible source means there is never a moment where God can’t supply exactly what I need to move forward in His wisdom.
- for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (Proverbs 2:10 ESV)
Prayer Day 10
- And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (Colossians 1:9 ESV)
My dearest and most-wise King,
I face a new year that is filled with possibilities for both good and evil. I need wisdom and knowledge for many things.
I ask for wisdom to deal with the people in my life. Family members, co-workers, neighbors, etc., provide a constant need for wisdom and knowledge. I want to love them well and serve them in ways that glorify You. But that is often confusing or difficult. Please teach me how to act and respond to others.
I also need wisdom for situations that confuse me. I don’t see the solutions. I don’t understand why You have allowed these, but I trust You will work with them. I need Your wisdom to move through these challenges in a Jesus-honoring way.
And Lord, for the surprises the next 12 months hold, I ask for Your wisdom and knowledge. Whether these surprises are pleasant or challenging, I will still need Your heavenly insight and understanding to navigate them successfully and in ways that build Your Kingdom.
Lord, please give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand the times we are in now. How can I offer Your love and peace in these tumultuous days? There are so many opposing opinions and everyone seems sure they are right. Please send Your heavenly wisdom and knowledge into our hearts, especially into the Church.
I ask You to fill me with Your wisdom today, and as I move through this year, and all that it holds, please remind me to return to You to be renewed and refilled. I humbly admit that without You, I won't know what to do.
Amen.
- And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2 ESV)
What would change if I steeped long and slow in God's wisdom? After praying for God's wisdom this morning, I took a Facebook post down, and I started looking at a personal problem differently. Let's grab a hold of the Lord's wisdom and knowledge this year. It could change everything!
- that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, (Ephesians 1:17 ESV)