Devote Yourself to Prayer

Your one prayer may be the one miracle that someone is waiting for. Follow the Spirit’s leading and pray.

March’s Awakening, Day 31

Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him.

 —Mother Teresa 

He who can inwardly lift his mind up to God, and can regard outward things little, needs not to seek for time or place to pray.

 —Thomas à Kempis  

I know of no better thermometer to your spiritual temperature than this, the measure of the intensity of your prayer.

 —C. H. Spurgeon 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2 NIV 

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 1 Timothy 2:8 NIV

            Love to pray and devote yourself to prayer, because nothing is more effective in its purpose and nothing is more worthy of the time spent. If you cultivate the desire to seek God in this way and to see His hand move in powerful ways you will reap great satisfaction. Never underestimate the power of prayer and the power of just one prayer. You may be the one prayer that God is waiting for. Be spiritually sensitive at all times and in all places to the Holy Spirit’s leading and direction in prayer. Be the warrior that stands in the gap. Your prayer may be the miracle that someone needs, and maybe the miracle is for you.                      

Fervent Flames of Prayer

Never play with fire but always pray with flames. Are your flames of prayer dancing with the angels in heaven?

March’s Awakening, Day 30

You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God … This kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose. They will pour water on this flame.

 —William Booth  

No erudition, no purity of diction, no width of mental outlook, no flowers of eloquence, no grace of person can atone for lack of fire. Prayer ascends by fire. Flame gives prayer access as well as wings, acceptance as well as energy. There is no incense without fire; no prayer without flame.

 —E. M. Bounds 

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16b NKJV   

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8 NIV 

            Our prayers should be passionately intense and persistently persuasive pleas to the One who we should be most intimate with. Praising Him, thanking Him, and earnest requests being made for others in intercession and for ourselves for every need should be the standard operating prayer. Our prayers are a sweet incense rising up to the heavenly abode and tarrying there in the presence of God to be breathed in with answers and solutions being breathed back out by God to be received by us. If you can be passionate and full of fire about anything—then be equally passionate and zealous with your prayers. Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking—God does not become annoyed by our persistent prayers. He wants to hear our heart’s desires and our requests for His almighty hand to move in powerful ways on another’s behalf.  He is waiting to lavish upon us all that is good. He is waiting to perform miracles in people’s lives that bring glory to His name.

            Pray passionately. Pray with zeal. Pray fervently with great expectation. Pray with fiery flames that ascend to heaven in eager anticipation while dancing all the way.

The Spirit Speaking

Is your spirit communing with God’s Spirit and cementing that relationship? Prayer is like air—you need them both to live.

March’s Awakening, Day 29

What can be more excellent than prayer; what is more profitable to our life; what sweeter to our souls; what more sublime, in the course of our whole life, than the practice of prayer!

 —Augustine of Hippo 

Prayer is the protection of holy souls; a consolation for the guardian angel; an insupportable torment to the devil; a most acceptable homage to God; the best and most perfect praise for penitents and religious; the greatest honor and glory; the preserver of spiritual health.

 —Augustine of Hippo

Prayer is the spirit speaking truth to Truth.

 —Phil James Bailey

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18 NIV   

            Prayer is the most powerful force in the universe. Prayer is the unbreakable chain that binds and connects our spirit with God’s Spirit. Prayer is our communion with God and our firm foundation for our continued faith and hope in Him. Prayer is essential for the spiritual life to grow and blossom. If you’re not praying fervently, you’re barely crawling through life.  

Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks

Are you going about your daily routine while your heart and mind are rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks as you’re spiritually walking in tune with Him? You can and you should.

March’s Awakening, Day 28

Prayer consists of:

P-etition: “Daniel made his petition three times a day” (Daniel 6:13)

R-everence: “Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28)

A-doration: “My lips will praise thee” (Psalm 63:3)

Y-earning: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6)

E-xpectation: “Elijah … prayed fervently that it might not rain” (James 5:17)

R-equests: “Let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6)

 —Author Unknown  

The reason why Paul enjoins, “Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:17–18), is, because he would have us with the utmost assiduity, at all times, in every place, in all things, and under all circumstances, direct our prayers to God, to expect all the things which we desire from him, and when obtained ascribe them to him; thus furnishing perpetual grounds for prayer and praise.

 —John Calvin

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Godʼs will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV     

            If we as believers would rejoice, pray, and give thanks in all circumstances, can you imagine how powerful and fulfilling our lives could be? And yes, this is well within our reach. Even if we don’t audibly speak the words, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks with our thoughts and in our heart can be accomplished on a regular and continual basis. It all becomes an attitude of the heart and a discipline of the mind. The more we do it, the easier and more natural it becomes, just like breathing in and breathing out. Let your mind be ever focused and cognizant of Him and the spiritual realm around you. Make those moments of illumination be powerfully effective—rejoice, pray, and give thanks. It is amazing how much you can accomplish spiritually while going about your daily living. Make it a reality in your life. Make it be the norm. 

Ask, Seek, and Knock

First thing in the morning, do you hit the floor running or hit the floor praying? Unless you can run at the speed of light, the praying is most effective.

March’s Awakening, Day 27

I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I didn’t have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,

And heavier came each task;

“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,

But the day toiled on gray and bleak;

I wondered why God didn’t show me.

He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence;

I used all my keys in the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

“My child, you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning,

And paused before entering the day;

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

 —Author Unknown

Though I forget to say my prayers or lose my words because life has taken me toward other things, I am grateful dear God, for your constancy within my life and although I may not show the same commitment, believe that my heart intends to strive always to give back that same constancy that you, in your Grace, have offered me.  

 —Sheryl Withers, “Prayer”

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7–8 NIV 

            Our lives are filled to the brim with busyness. Much of that busyness is constructive and necessary but some of it is non-productive. The more we need to do, the more priorities we need to establish and adhere to. It is easy to put time with God and prayer on the back burner, but the spiritual reality of that is an eventual loss of effectiveness, direction, satisfaction, and connection with the One who holds the keys to everything. The time that we believe we are gaining is actually an increase in time we are losing, for our overall ability and productivity will suffer. Time spent with God and in prayer will never be a loss of time. We will become better focused, more effective, stronger, and will complete tasks more excellently having been in God’s presence.

            Pray first. Ask, seek, and knock. He has much waiting in store for you, and guidance that you should never overlook. If you truly want to be the most successful in every endeavor, then make sure you include the One who can orchestrate it all for you. It will be the absolute best use of your time.

Spiritually Wise

Are you spiritually wise? Are you asking God for His wisdom? Are you displaying the godly fruit of wisdom? Are you aware of and discerning the invisible and deep spiritual truths all around you? Do you have and continually walk in the mind of Christ?

March’s Awakening, Day 26

A man may be theologically knowing and spiritually ignorant.

 —Stephen Charnock

Believers who have most knowledge, are not therefore necessarily the most spiritual.

 —John Newton  

Lord, teach me to know Thee, and to know myself.

 —Augustine of Hippo 

Modern mankind can go anywhere, do everything and be completely curious about the universe. But only a rare person now and then is curious enough to want to know God.

 —A. W. Tozer   

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:5–8 NIV 

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13–18 NIV 

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:12–16 NIV 

            Intelligence, knowledge, theological knowledge, and worldly wisdom do not by themselves bring spiritual wisdom. It is helpful to have access to all of that, but true spiritual wisdom can only be obtained by being in the presence of the One who has it. True spiritual wisdom is obtained directly by praying and asking God, meditating on His Word, and being frequently in His presence through adoration and praise and thanksgiving. Gaining spiritual wisdom requires a close connection with God. Nothing is more important. Seek it at all cost.

"RENEW MY HEART, O GOD" IS AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE PURCHASE

RENEW MY HEART, O GOD Is Now Available for Online Purchase!

My Book is available on both the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites!

The retail pricing for the Hardcover is $30.95 and for the Paperback $19.95.

When the eBooks are available, they will be $9.99. (I’ll keep checking.)

On barnesandnoble.com I saw the Hardcover at a slightly reduced price, $27.83, but discount pricing seems to change rapidly! The Barnes and Noble website does not have a picture of the Book up yet, but that should be updated in a few days.

When you search for the Book— “Renew My Heart, O God” —should bring it right up.

God is Great!

Prayers and blessings to you all!

Jeff

Do You Know What Wisdom Knows?

Does “I, wisdom” dwell within you? Are you eagerly seeking it? Are you earnestly giving it away?

March’s Awakening, Day 25

He that knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool: shun him.

He that knows not and knows that he knows not is a child: teach him.

He that knows and knows not that he knows is asleep: wake him.

He that knows and knows that he knows is a wise man: follow him.

 —Arabic Proverb  

When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.

 —John Wesley  

“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just; by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full. Proverbs 8:12–21 NIV  

            Godly wisdom and being connected to God in that way may be the most powerful attribute that anyone could possess. Possessing the power of that knowledge and appropriate decision making can go a long way to a life of success, honor, and joy. Being able to impart wisdom into another is a blessing upon a blessing. Great satisfaction comes from pouring yourself into someone and seeing in them the fruition of your labors. One thing is certain—we and this world we live in will constantly change and our understanding and knowledge will change—but God and God’s Word is timeless and transcends all and is ever powerful and pertinent. If God has revealed the deep truths of life and of Himself to you, rest assured, that wisdom will always be valid and true. Invest your heart and mind and time in His eternal wisdom, and give it away as earnestly too.

Let Not Wisdom Become Bitter

Life’s tough. Sometimes it’s impossible to understand. Don’t let it make you bitter.

March’s Awakening, Day 24

By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;

Second, by imitation, which is easiest;

and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

 —Confucius  

Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too full of self to seek other than itself.

 —Kahlil Gibran 

and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:7–11, 13–14 NIV

            Life’s lessons are extremely difficult and sometimes it’s impossible to comprehend the meaning of it all. The elderly King Solomon, the man of wisdom who had no rival, the Teacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes, ponders the meaning of life and in a bit of despondency concludes that all in life is meaningless.  All, that is, except to fear God and keep His commandments. Maybe it’s a bit depressing to hear the man of wisdom speak in this light, but it may be comforting in one sense to know that even the wisest man who ever was, struggled with understanding the meaning of all that life is. The lesson is that only God sees and knows the whole picture and we just get glimpses.

             It takes a lot of faith and trust in God to follow through in this life and know that there truly is a plan and reason for it all. Don’t let life’s experiences make you bitter and don’t lose focus that there is a bigger picture yet to be known. Let God’s wisdom guide you and know that it’s okay to be despondent at times, just don’t let life make you bitter.

It’s Finally Here!

“Renew My Heart, O God - Daily Devotions for Healing Your Heart,” has finally been released and will be available in about 1-2 weeks online and in retail bookstores. I have just received my first copy of the hardcover and the paperback. The book is 6" x 9" and 466 pages. It will be available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, and other retail bookstore outlets. The eBook versions in Kindle, Nook, and iBook should also be available soon. I will be checking Amazon regularly and let everyone know when it is officially available for purchase. 

Thank you once again to everyone for your continued prayers and support! May God use this book to bring hope and healing to all who would come, and may many find Him in its pages.

Here’s your first look at the hardcover!

Prayers and blessings,

Jeff

Wisdom’s Quiet Humility

You don’t need to show what you know, just sow wisdom in quiet humility.

March’s Awakening, Day 23

The more you know, the less you need to show.

 —Author Unknown

Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be.

 —Author Unknown 

Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.

 —William Cowper 

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23–24 NIV

But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:1b–2 NIV   

            True wisdom is not prideful or boastful but is patient and tempered always with love. Wisdom knows that it is a true gift from God and not something derived from one’s own self and abilities. The wise speak life into those who listen, and they are also silent when their words would fall on deaf ears or be inappropriate to speak at that time. Wisdom has a timeless power and ability to resonate profoundly in the heart and bring about new courses of action and new directions. Godly wisdom will transcend knowledge, and sometimes, wisdom can even seem counterintuitive. Once gained, wisdom becomes ingrained and remains, whereas knowledge is more fleeting. Embrace godly wisdom and heed its call. There is no better way to learn the deep, significant lessons of life.

Wisdom’s Etiquette

Wise as the owl, harmless as the dove. Wisdom is always humble and gracious and polite. Does that describe you?  

March’s Awakening, Day 22

Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show that you have one.

 —Lord Chesterfield 

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

 —Winston Churchill 

Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify.

 —Ambrose Bierce 

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 NKJV 

            Wisdom and knowledge are great things to possess, but most assuredly they should never be used in any condescending or arrogant fashion. Just remember that no one person knows everything about every topic, and even experts and scholars rarely know everything about their own particular area of expertise. Thinking and acting as such will make yourself appear to be the fool. You can learn something from everyone and everyone knows something you don’t. Always be humble and gracious and politely correct, preferably in private, if it absolutely needs to be done. Embarrassing others, especially in public circumstances, will always be detrimental to that relationship. We all learn information in different ways and all of us have differing opinions and ideas about many things. Just remember that wisdom and knowledge have their own set of manners and etiquette too.

Genius Is Relative

We don’t know all the answers, but we can certainly start with a few pertinent questions. Open the Book that opens the door to the library.

March’s Awakening, Day 21

The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

 —Albert Einstein 

The thing is, in this life you can know a great deal about something, and still be wrong.

 —Sir Len Hutton

 We don’t know a millionth of one per cent about anything.

 —Thomas Alva Edison 

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

 —Aldous Huxley 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” Romans 11:33–34 NIV 

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13 NIV

“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Job 33:31–33 NIV

            How little we know. How little we understand. How little we can even fathom or contemplate. Even the greatest minds and the greatest talents of all humanity struggle with the limits of our human comprehension. The simplest workings of the most infinitesimally minute particle and the simplest workings of the most grandiose structure in the universe are all way beyond the most magnificent of human understanding. Oh to know the mind of God!

            As an intellectual, I can imagine spending my eternity in the library of God, or maybe even better, in His classroom. I’m not sure eternity is long enough for this feeble mind to even learn and understand a fraction of what there is to potentially know. But I look forward to the opportunity to learn all I can. It does start with the questions. And God has all the answers. I pray that this mind can wrap itself around and engage in understanding. The library of eternal knowledge is huge and it helps to know with which book to start—it’s His Book of course, the One that opens the door of the library itself.

Your Sphere of Wisdom

Are you surrounding yourself with a godly sphere of wisdom, those wiser than yourself, and those you’re imparting wisdom into?

March’s Awakening, Day 20

What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end.

 —Warren Buffet 

Common Sense is genius dressed in working clothes.

 —Waldo Emerson  

The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.

 —C. S. Lewis 

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 NIV

and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— Exodus 35:31 NIV  

            Unlike God, who knows the end from the beginning, we as mortal human beings, do not. We must live on a linear timeline moving only in one direction. Therefore, we must make the best of each day and learn from it, not repeating the same mistakes, and using every source of information and wisdom at our disposal. No one single individual has a monopoly on wisdom and it is often good for us to seek godly counsel and surround ourselves with those wiser than us. Surrounding ourselves with mentors rather than apprentices encourages us to grow. It is good to be a mentor and pour into an apprentice, but every great mentor has a mentor too. Sometimes, a challenging apprentice with lots of poignant questions can truly motivate the mentor to keep pace.

            Pray to be filled with the Spirit of God and be filled with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and with all kinds of skills. Embrace wisdom from whence it comes. Be the inquisitive apprentice. Excel as the sought-after mentor. Surround yourself with others wiser than yourself. And don’t overlook the obvious, as sometimes wisdom comes humbly clothed in the guise of common sense.

Wisdom’s Source

God is the supreme source of all wisdom, not self or the world. Are you being wise in your own eyes or applying godly wisdom from the source above?

March’s Awakening, Day 19

The more accurately we search into the human mind, the stronger traces we everywhere find of the wisdom of him who made it.

 —Edmund Burke 

Should it be said that the Greeks discovered philosophy by human wisdom, I reply that I find the Scriptures declare all wisdom to be a divine gift.

 —Clement of Rome 

You can’t access wisdom by the megabyte. Wisdom is concerned with how we relate to people, to the world, and to God.

 —Edmund P. Clowney  

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10 NIV 

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

1 Corinthians 3:18–20 NIV

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:19–25 NIV 

            In our quest to become spiritually mature and ever connected to God, we must assimilate as much knowledge of God and His Word that we can.  Hopefully, that knowledge will then be applied and used appropriately to help guide and direct our choices and our lives. The more we can be in the presence of God, the more His wisdom can be imparted to us. We can glean wisdom through our life experiences, but that can oftentimes be tedious and painful.  If we listen intently to what He speaks to us, study His Word, and be obedient to that, we can circumvent many a poor choice and live a much more peaceful life. It takes humility to realize that being wise in our own eyes or the eyes of the world, simply means we are rolling the dice and hoping for a good outcome. Oftentimes, we will find ourselves floundering about and wondering how we ended up where we are. God’s ways are higher that our ways and God’s wisdom is supreme. Never rely on self or world when you’ve got the Source just a prayer away.

The Art of Wisdom

Some of life’s regrets become our greatest source of wisdom. Learn the lesson. Apply the solution. Teach the wisdom.

March’s Awakening, Day 18

Abundance of knowledge does not teach a man to be wise.

 —Heraclitus 

Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living and the other helps you make a life.

 —Sandra Carey 

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

 —William James 

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” Proverbs 4:5–9 NIV  

            Wouldn’t it be nice if we had godly wisdom from a very young age and used that wisdom in all our decision making? I’m sure it would prevent much regret and ease the difficult consequences that we’ve had to endure. But then again, we do learn much from our mistakes and sometimes, those lessons stay with us best. However, it is also good to remember that some things we just will never know at the time, and so choices, even based on the best knowledge and wisdom, will sometimes simply turn out unexpectedly. Only God knows the future. For the present, in our reality, we must simply use everything at our disposal in the way of both knowledge and wisdom and always add a hefty dose of prayer to seek the appropriate direction from God. When the decision is made, regardless of how it turns out, we can at least say we did our absolute best and sought the best of counsel all along the way.

Gain Knowledge, Seek Wisdom

Knowledge is a wonderful thing to possess, but godly wisdom to apply all that knowledge is truly a gift.

March’s Awakening, Day 17

Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Obedience is the application of wisdom.

 —Author Unknown

Wisdom is knowledge, rightly applied.

 —Author Unknown 

One can have knowledge without having wisdom, but one cannot have wisdom without having knowledge.

 —R. C. Sproul 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5–8 NIV 

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Proverbs 3:13–22 NIV 

            Knowledge is the accumulation and assimilation of data, facts, and information. Wisdom is putting all that knowledge into logical, useful, and functional formats that work in the reality of life. Knowledge is gained through mental activity by learning and understanding all that is around us. Wisdom blends the hard science with the art and architecture of life and life experiences. Knowledge is a precursor to wisdom, but knowledge can be gained by all of us, whereas wisdom is more of a gifting from God. Wisdom must have a base of knowledge, but much knowledge does not impart wisdom. Gain knowledge through all and in all you can and do, and seek wisdom as a valuable gift from God.