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The Bible says in the book of Proverbs 1, verse 7, that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Explore how fearing the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom and knowledge, leading to a prosperous Christian life.
Key Takeaways
- Fearing the Lord is the essential starting point for gaining true wisdom.
- Heavenly wisdom produces a life marked by peace, mercy, and integrity.
- Wisdom distinguishes believers and enables them to prosper spiritually and practically.
- Access to God’s wisdom requires reverence, obedience, and a close relationship with Him.
- Praying for wisdom and studying Scripture are vital but must be rooted in honoring God.
Summary
- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, as stated in Proverbs 1:7.
- Wisdom is highly valued throughout Scripture and is essential for a successful Christian walk.
- Heavenly wisdom differs from earthly wisdom and is characterized by purity, peace, mercy, and sincerity (James 3:17).
- King Solomon exemplifies the power and influence of wisdom granted by God.
- Fearing the Lord means reverence and respect, not terror or cowering.
- Living in reverence to God naturally leads to a life of integrity and avoidance of sin.
- True wisdom and access to God's mind are reserved for those who fear and honor Him.
- Studying the Word and prayer are important but must be accompanied by honoring God to bear fruit.
- The speaker shares a personal testimony about the transformative power of asking God for wisdom.
- The video concludes with an invitation to pray for wisdom and respond to God's call personally.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Let's meditate on this before we pray together.
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But what exactly does this verse mean?
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In many verses of the Bible, particularly in the book of Proverbs, a lot is said about wisdom.
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In fact, a lot is said about our need for wisdom and how it is important to the Christian walk.
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However, we cannot really go into that without talking about what the Bible considers the beginning of wisdom itself, that is, the fear of God.
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Proverbs 4, verse 7, says that "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding."
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Proverbs 16, verse 16, says, "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!"
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Ephesians 1, verses 16 to 17, says, "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."
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It seems everywhere we turn in Scripture, wisdom comes highly recommended.
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In fact, our first verse here tells us plainly that wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, we should get wisdom and understanding as well.
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In the history of man,
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it's known that one of the things men spend their time pursuing is wisdom,
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whether of the earthly kind
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or of the heavenly kind,
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and that search
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is still going on today.
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The search for wisdom and knowledge
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is why universities are still open;
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it's the reason why people undergo different learning programs of all kinds.
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In fact, we human beings tend to gravitate towards wisdom because we are creatures of learning.
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However, the wisdom we speak of here is more than earthly wisdom or the kind learnt in schools.
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Heavenly wisdom is wisdom from above.
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This wisdom is a must for any man that will prosper as a Christian,
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and it is very distinct from that which the world teaches.
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Here is the Bible's description of this wisdom
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in James 3, verse 17.
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"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."
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This wisdom is one of the reasons why we must never stop studying the Word.
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When we become a people full of the wisdom of God,
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we become different,
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we begin to prosper,
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we begin to thrive.
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We know the mind of God on matters,
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and that is truly what this wisdom is:
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the mind of God,
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the knowledge of God communicated to us.
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Wisdom sets men apart;
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wisdom causes the face of a man to shine.
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There is a man in Scripture known for his wisdom: King Solomon.
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Solomon's all-important request, and what it began to do in his life, is documented
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in the book of First Kings, chapter 3.
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When we get to chapter 4, the Bible says this about King Solomon:
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1 Kings 4:34 "From all nations people came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom."
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The Bible also says this about a man that is wise.
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Ecclesiastes 8:1 "Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things?
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A person's wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance."
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Right there it says wisdom brightens our face,
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but the thing is, we cannot access this wisdom
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without the fear of the Lord first being in place in our lives.
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That is the very start, the very beginning of wisdom.
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A person who does not fear the Lord cannot have access to the mind of God.
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And beyond having access to the mind of God,
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I have found that the fear of God in a man's life
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naturally translates to heavenly wisdom.
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Now, the fear of the Lord itself does not mean quaking in our boots
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whenever God is mentioned.
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It is not cowering in fear.
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It is living a life that is reverent of Him,
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a life that honors Him,
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that honors His Word,
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a life that respects Him.
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In this regard, to fear the Lord is to reverence Him,
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to be mindful of Him,
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to be conscious of Him.
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I have found that naturally, when men are conscious of the Lord,
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they carry an attitude that translates to wisdom naturally.
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You know not to sin when you fear the Lord.
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A man that stays away from sin is naturally kept away
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from many heartaches and pains.
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I was thinking about this just a few days ago,
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and I realized that obeying the Lord in His commands naturally saves us
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from a lot of heartaches.
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If the Lord tells us to keep ourselves sexually pure,
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do you know how much that saves us from?
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When He says not to lie, when He says to live righteously,
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and we do so, even to the world,
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we are naturally regarded as people of integrity.
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Many secular people would rather work with a person of integrity
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than someone that is untrustworthy, and that came simply because you feared God
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and refused to sin against Him.
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In this same vein, many of the things the Bible
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warns us about translate into wisdom.
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And then there is the other part:
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those who fear the Lord have an opening,
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they have access into the deep things of God.
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I am yet to see a sinner be full of the wisdom of God.
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That right, that access, is only reserved for the children of God
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who fear Him.
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The Lord does not bring strangers to His holiest places.
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He brings true sons.
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That is why we cannot be a people thriving in sin
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and be full of the wisdom of God.
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Yes, there is that part where we can ask the Lord for wisdom
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when it's lacking in us.
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There is the place of studying the Word,
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and wisdom is naturally translated to us by constantly beholding the Scripture,
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but all those things will not bear much fruit if we do not honor the Lord in our lives.
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God hardly reveals His Word to one living in sin.
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Even if it was revealed, grasping it would be difficult
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or altogether lost.
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To gain access to the wisdom of God,
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you first must fear Him.
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You must revere Him, you must honor Him,
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and you must be close to Him.
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Only then can Word study and prayers begin to bear fruit in your life.
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I see this message as God calling out to you today.
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He is calling you to come into that place of wisdom.
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I have once been in that place where God called me to wisdom.
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I remember then I wasn't very intentional about wisdom.
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I had been in a Bible class,
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and we were told to ask for a gift we wanted to see manifest in our lives.
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I wanted the seemingly cool ones, like revelation,
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something nice and grand.
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But I remember that day, I sensed an insistence in my spirit
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telling me to ask for wisdom.
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Wisdom was, of course, the last thing on my mind.
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I was quite young then and didn't see what wisdom could do for me,
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but this lone thought kept interrupting my prayers,
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so I asked for wisdom instead,
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and I have never come to regret that prayer.
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I have seen the fruits of wisdom in my life,
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I have seen what wisdom does in a life,
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but none of that comes if you don't honor the Giver of the gift,
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God Himself.
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This is why the call is important, and it is personal.
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You don't come to ask God for things because your friends are doing it;
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there is no group here.
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This is a personal request from your heart to God's ears.
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So I invite you to say this prayer with me today,
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and as you say it, I believe that everything is about to change.
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It may not be spectacular and mind-blowing,
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but your life will change in the way that a life quietly changes course
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and comes to a place of rest without much noise.
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If you are ready to answer that call today, please say with me.
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Heavenly Father, I thank you for your Word.
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I thank you for talking to me today about wisdom
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and for what you are set to do in my life.
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I thank you for causing me to see the truth about your wisdom today,
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and I thank you for making this call and for giving me the opportunity to answer it.
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Thank you, Jesus.
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Father, you see me completely and know me better than I know myself.
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You know the places in my heart that have not fully honored you.
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You know the thoughts I have entertained,
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the choices I have made, the attitudes I have carried,
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and the ways I have lived without truly keeping you at the center of my life.
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Lord, I confess that I have not always walked in reverence before you.
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I have not always lived with the awareness that you are with me, watching, leading,
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and calling me into holiness.
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There are areas of my life where your fear has not governed me,
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and because of that, I have gone my own way in many things.
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I have not always lived wisely.
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Sometimes I made choices without turning to you
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and relied on my own judgment.
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I let my feelings and desires guide me when I should have listened for your voice.
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I realize that some of the pain, confusion, and struggles I have faced
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happened because I was not close to you.
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Today, Lord, I ask for your forgiveness.
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Please have mercy on me.
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Cleanse me completely and remove every stain.
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Clear my heart of anything that does not show your character.
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Clear my mind of thoughts that are not like yours.
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Remove from my desires anything that goes against your will.
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I do not want to stay the same or keep living as I have.
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I ask for real renewal and restoration today.
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Lord, please restore my walk with you.
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Bring back my hunger for righteousness and my tenderness toward your Spirit.
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Renew my love for your Word and help me be sensitive to your voice again.
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Heal the parts of me that have become cold, careless, distracted, or weak.
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Breathe new life into me, Lord.
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Give me strength where I have been fragile and in the places where I keep falling.
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Help me when I feel tired, unstable, or unable to overcome on my own.
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I know I am weak, but I trust that your strength is perfect in my weakness.
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I am not pretending to be strong.
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I admit that I need you.
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I know that without your help, I cannot truly walk uprightly,
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live a life that pleases you, or honor you the way I want to.
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Father, I want to honor you with my life.
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I want to live in a way that brings you glory.
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I don't want to take lightly the things that matter to you anymore.
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Please help me, Lord.
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Show me how to respect you as I should.
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Teach me to live with reverence and to remember your presence every day.
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Let your fear take root in my heart so it shapes my choices,
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guides my words, leads my steps, and influences my desires.
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Let it show in how I speak, how I think, how I treat others,
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and how I act when no one else is around.
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Help me to key into the things that naturally translate to wisdom in you.
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Let your commands and instructions become a true part of my daily life and devotion.
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Let me not only hear your Word, but also love it.
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Let me not only study your instructions, but also delight in obeying them.
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Give me a heart that finds joy in submission to you.
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Give me a heart that does not resist your correction.
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Give me a spirit that is quick to obey.
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Let obedience become beautiful to me and holiness become precious to me.
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Let righteousness become my desire.
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Teach me to treasure the life that pleases you more than the life that pleases my flesh.
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And Lord, as I enter this new life that fears you,
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I ask you to bring me into your wisdom.
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Just as King Solomon came before you desiring wisdom, I come this morning with a willing heart.
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I come with surrender and humility.
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My heart is cleansed, yielded, and ready to hear you.
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Father, give me your wisdom.
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Let it rest upon me.
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Direct and guide my steps.
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Teach me to see as you see.
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Help me discern rightly and make decisions that align with your will.
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Keep me from foolishness, haste, confusion, and error.
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Let your wisdom speak louder in me than fear, emotion, or impulse.
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Help me see deep things in you, Lord.
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Reveal truths that will change my life and wisdom that draws me closer to you.
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Reveal the knowledge of your heart in a way that transforms how I live.
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Let your wisdom fill me so deeply that I operate from that place at all times.
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Let me show wisdom in my speech, relationships, work, and decisions.
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Let your wisdom become the atmosphere of my life.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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I hope this devotion has blessed your heart today.
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We pray that everything spoken in this prayer will come to pass in your life in Jesus' name.
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If you have any special prayer requests, we would be honored to pray for you.
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Please share them with us in the comments.
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May the peace of God remain with you always.
Topics:fear of the LordwisdomProverbsChristian livingspiritual growthKing Solomonheavenly wisdomBible studyprayerintegrity
