“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
2 Chronicles 1:9-10… “Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”
I can’t help but write on this opening scripture, every time I come to it in my Q/T reading in the Bible… This prayer is being made to the Lord by Solomon, King David’s son…who had just been anointed by the Lord, to take over as king for his father David…1 Chronicles 29:22-25…
My research on how old Solomon was when he became king reveals somewhere around 20 years of age… No one knows for sure…but at an early age, Solomon was taking on a huge responsibility in filling his father’s shoes… One very important project given to Solomon was to oversee the building of the temple in Jerusalem, which the Lord took away from King David, because of his previous sins…1 Chronicles 28:3…
In Solomon’s prayer to the Lord…all he asked for was enough “wisdom and knowledge” to be able to do a good job at running the kingdom… But God blessed Solomon with much more than wisdom, because he could have prayed for wealth, riches, honor, and a long life…but he didn’t…2 Chronicles 1:11…
Here is what the Lord graced Solomon with, as recorded in… 2 Chronicles 1:12… “wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall anyafter you have the like.” (NKJV)
I spent a day writing about what prayers God will hear, and not hear…and what prayers God will hear and answer, and not answer, based on Bible scripture…back on 4/30/2013… Christians can be reasonably sure that God will answer any prayers made in the will of God, by the Christian who has no unconfessed sins…John 9:31… I base this hope on scripture made by the Apostle John, in…
John 5:14-15… Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we askanything according to Hiswill, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (NKJV)
But to make things easy for the Christian who is praying to the Lord…I believe Solomon’s humble prayer gives us a model that we could all learn from… We know that God is sovereign…meaning God is going to bless us with what He wants us to have…no more and no less…
When I pray to the Lord, I don’t stipulate a laundry list of requests…even if I believe they are all in God’s will for my life… I first thank the Lord for all of His provisions for the day… I pray for any hidden sins in my life to be revealed… I ask the Lord for forgiveness of any sins I have made that day, that I have not already had time to confess and repent of…1 John 1:9… And then I pray that the Lord bless me as He sees fit…
I wrote about what “Walking in the Spirit” means in the life of the Christian, a few days ago… I believe it is important for the Christian to be Spirit filled (Ephesians 5:18-20), in order for their prayers to have any chance of being answered by God… You can go to www.Godsmanforever.wordpress.com and type 5/13/2013 in the search window, to read this days writing about “Walking in the Spirit”…
The key to “Walking in the Spirit” is “being rooted and grounded in love”… The Apostle Paul used these words, in…Ephesians 3:16-17…and continues on with the following scripture, explaining this “love of Christ which passes knowledge”…where the Christian is “filled with all the fullness of God”…
Ephesians 3:18-19… may be able to comprehend with all the saints what isthe width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)
I again post this scripture, and the need to be “Walking in the Spirit”, for prayers made in God’s will to be answered…because of what the Apostle Paul then pens, in…Ephesians 3:20… Now to Him who is able to do exceedinglyabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (NKJV)
I believe that Christians don’t rely enough on the promises God makes to His obedient children… We tend to limit our capabilities in all areas of our lives, to what we know in our own limited minds… But God’s ways are not our ways…Isaiah 55:8-9… God, “according to the power that works in us” (the full power of the Spirit filled Christian)…“is able to do exceedinglyabundantly above all that we ask or think”…
By praying to the Lord, to bless us in all areas of our lives as the Lord sees fit, doesn’t limit the possibilities for God’s blessings in our lives…
I read a book titled “The Prayer of Jabez”, written by Bruce Wilkerson, some time ago… This book was written about an obscure prayer in a long list of genealogies in 1 Chronicles, made by a man named Jabez…who is found nowhere else in the Bible…1 Chronicles 4:9-10… This prayer by Jabez, which I now base part of my own personal prayer life upon, is found in…
1 Chronicles 4:10… And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would blessme indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So Godgranted him what herequested. (NKJV)
We as obedient Christians need to remember that it is not our strength that we should be depending upon… The Lord wants us to depend on Him, as the Lord can and will provide the needs of His children…Matthew 6:33… The Apostle Paul reminds us as Christians…about where our capabilities come from, in… Philippians 4:13… I can doallthings through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)
Heavenly Father, help all of Your children understand that You only want the best for their lives… And that if we put all of our faith and trust in You…that Your way will always be the best way for our lives… I pray for this fullness of Christ to take charge of all of our lives, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
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