The LORD Grants Wisdom!

Cry out for insight,
    and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
    seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD,
    and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the LORD grants wisdom!
    From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. —Proverbs 2:3-6 (NLT)

 

God of All Wisdom,

 

Thank You for showing me the pathway to wisdom, and for guiding me down that path.

 

Strengthen me along this journey, as I cry out to You for insight and pray to You for understanding.

 

Create in me a hunger to search out those hidden treasures that are found within the pages of Your Word—treasures which reveal Your truth, Your will and Your ways.

 

And as I gain knowledge of all You are, help me to fully experience what it means to fear You—to respond to the glory of who You are with humble and awestruck reverence.

 

For only You can grant wisdom, and all knowledge and understanding comes from Your mouth alone.

 

Thank You for showing me the pathway to wisdom, and for guiding me down that path.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

With You Wherever You Go

 

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:8-9 (NLT)

 

O LORD, My God,

 

Thank You for giving us Your Word—this amazing Book of Instruction—which tells us everything we need to know to navigate the challenges of life here on earth and fulfill our calling with strength and courage!

 

Help me to study Your Word continually and meditate on its truth day and night—so that I will not only be careful to fully understand Your instruction, but also be able to apply its Truth to my life, in willing obedience.

 

For if I obey Your instruction, You have promised I will prosper and succeed in all that I do—and because of Your blessing upon my life, others will come to understand their own need for a relationship with You.

 

Keep me far from fear and discouragement—comforted by knowing that, though Your way for me may not always seem easy, it will always be right. And help me to remain strong and courageous, confident in the Truth that You are always with me wherever I go.

 

Thank You for giving us Your Word—this amazing Book of Instruction—which tells us everything we need to know to navigate the challenges of life here on earth and fulfill our calling, with strength and courage!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Ask of God!

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

 

—James 1:5 (NKJV)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

In all my asking, may I never fail to ask You for wisdom—so that every decision I make might bring You glory, honor, and praise.

 

Grant me the kind of wisdom that only You can give—a wisdom that is founded upon a knowledge of the Truth of Your Word and forged in an understanding of how to practically apply that Truth to all of life’s challenges.

 

Grant me the kind of wisdom that transcends my human understanding—a wisdom that properly stands in awe of all that You are and all You have done; a wisdom that knows that everything good comes from You alone; a wisdom that trusts and obeys You. Speak to me, by Your Spirit, and empower me to make each next right choice.

 

Grant me the kind of wisdom that transforms my heart, purifies my every motive, and perfects me in love for others—a wisdom that moves me to take on the character of Christ—so that the Light of His Life can shine in me, through me, and all around me.

 

In all my asking, may I never fail to ask You for wisdom—so that every decision I make might bring You glory, honor, and praise.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Receive Mercy

 

People who conceal their sins will not prosper,

    but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

 

—Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)

 

 

Merciful and Compassionate LORD,

 

Keep me from the foolishness of trying to conceal my sins. Help me to confess and turn from them, so that I will receive mercy.

 

By Your Holy Spirit, convict me of my sins—and expose the evil that they contain and the power that they have to destroy me—so that I might learn from my sins and not repeat them. 

 

Help me willingly and openly confess my sins to You, for You already know them; tremble before Your justice, knowing that I deserve punishment; and fall upon Your mercy and grace, that I may be delivered from them through Your promise of forgiveness.

 

Help me to truly repent of my sins—to turn away from them and run the other direction, straight into Your merciful and compassionate arms of love. Then let me glorify You for the unmerited favor that You pour over me.

 

Keep me from the foolishness of trying to conceal my sins. Help me to confess and turn from them, so that I will receive mercy.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Don't Just Listen to God's Word!

 

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

 

—James 1:22 (NLT)

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Don’t allow me to fool myself!  Help me not only to listen to Your Word, but also willingly choose to do what it says!

 

Save me from the self-deception that I am accomplishing something good when I merely listen to Your Word, but then walk away—failing to embrace and apply its instructions to my life.

 

Help me always to approach Your Word carefully and with proper reverence for the power of the Truth that it contains—that power to change me, from within, into all that You have called me to be.

 

Help me to invest the time to look carefully into the perfect law that sets me free, so that I can understand it, do what it says, remember what I have heard, and enjoy the freedom that living by Your Word can bring me.

 

Don’t allow me to fool myself!  Help me not only to listen to Your Word, but also willingly choose to do what it says!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

That We Might Know the LORD!

 

Oh, that we might know the LORD!

    Let us press on to know him.

He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn

    or the coming of rains in early spring.

 

—Hosea 6:3 (NLT)

 

Loving and Compassionate LORD,

 

Your Word promises that You will respond to me, when I seek You, when I choose to press on to know You. So, help me to know You as You are—to know You in truth! 

 

Don’t allow me to settle for knowing about You, LORD, but help me to know You intimately—through my experience of Your Holy Spirit at work in me, through me, and all around me.

 

Help me to understand that my deepest needs and desires are satisfied only by knowing You personally—not as some abstract idea, but in unbroken fellowship with You, as Your very own child.

 

Help me to seek You through continuous prayer, in spontaneous worship, and by careful meditation on the Truth of Your Word—and by application of that Truth to my life.

 

Keep me mindful that You so desired a relationship with me, that You chose to live inside of me by Your Holy Spirit when I first surrendered my life to Christ—sealing my life in Your love forever.

 

Your Word promises that You will respond to me, when I seek You, when I choose to press on to know You. So, help me to know You as You are—to know You in truth!

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Living by Faithfulness to God

 

“Look at the proud!

    They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.

    But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.”

 

—Habakkuk 2:4 (NLT)

 

Father God,

 

Empty me completely of any pride that You find hidden in my heart.

 

Don’t allow me to trust in my own strength or abilities—for, apart from You, I cannot do any good thing.

 

Help me to live my life on the straight path that leads to life—and keep my pride from putting my life on a crooked path of destruction and ruin.

 

May my hope for righteousness be found in Christ alone, and may my life be lived in faithfulness to You—always, in all my ways.

 

Empty me completely of any pride that You find hidden in my heart.

 

In the name of Jesus, Amen.