Growing in the Knowledge of God - Day 10 - Knowledge and Wisdom Can Help Keep You Safe in This Life

“My son … keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.” (Proverbs 3:21)

“When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil …” (Proverbs 2:10)

“Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.” (Proverbs 4:10)

Life is full of one tragedy after another when people do not use good, common sense. People abusing drugs and alcohol, driving too fast on the highways, and hanging out with the wrong crowd can all lead to an early departure from this life.

Notice in the very last verse above, that it starts out that your years can be many if you are willing to follow the way of wisdom. But the implication is also there that if you do not follow the way of wisdom, that you can have your life cut short and ended early. Many of the deaths that we see on a daily basis are the result of people making very poor choices.

This is why God is really emphasizing in the above verses that the way of wisdom and knowledge will help keep you safe, help preserve you, help keep you from hanging out with the wrong kind of people, and help keep you in one piece as you journey through this life.

~Bits and Pieces of "Seeking After the Knowledge of God".

PRAYER

Handling the Day of Trouble or Calamity

Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus, acknowledging You as my Refuge and High Tower. You are a refuge and a stronghold in these times of trouble (high cost, destitution and desperation).

In the day of trouble You will hide me in Your shelter, in the secret place of Your tent will You hide me; You will set me high upon a rock. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in Your tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to You, O Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!

On the authority of Your Word, I declare that I have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When I cry for help, You, Lord, hear me and deliver me out of all my distress and troubles. You are close to me, for I am of a broken heart, and You save such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent. Lord, many are the evils that confront me, but You deliver me out of them all.

Thank You for being merciful and gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings I take refuge and am confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed. You perform on my behalf and reward me. You bring to pass Your purposes for me, and surely You complete them!

Father, You are my Refuge and Strength (mighty and impenetrable to temptation), a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Lord, You have given and bequeathed to me Your peace. By Your grace I will not let my heart be troubled, neither will I let it be afraid. With the help of the Holy Spirit I will (stop allowing myself to be agitated and disturbed; and I refuse to permit myself to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled).

By faith, I respond to these troubles and calamities: (I am full of joy now!) I exult and triumph in my troubles and rejoice in my sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character (of this sort) produces (the habit of) joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames me, for Your love has been poured out in my heart through the Holy Spirit who has given to me.  In Jesus name, Amen.

©2013 Germaine Copeland and Word Ministries, Inc.

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Growing in the Knowledge of God - Day 9 - Knowledge and Understanding Wisdom

Before I go into the next set of Scripture verses – there is one more thing that I need to point out to you.  In many of these verses, you will see three key words that are constantly being repeated over and over again.

These three key words are:

Knowledge

Understanding 

Wisdom

God will first start off by conveying His "knowledge" to you about something specific.  However, knowledge by itself will not get the job done.

The next key word is “understanding.”  Understanding means that you understand the knowledge that is being given to you.  If you do not understand the knowledge that has been given to you, then you will not be able to use it or apply it in a real life situation.

The third key word is “wisdom.”  Once you understand the knowledge that has been given to you, then there is now one more step you will need to have in order to be able to properly use that knowledge – and that step is having the actual wisdom to be able to use that knowledge in a real life situation. 

Many college graduates understand the knowledge they have learned through many of their college courses – but they lack the wisdom to be able to apply that knowledge in the real world. You have all heard the term that someone may be “book-smart” – but lack the common sense and wisdom to be able to use this knowledge in the real working world.

This is where the Holy Spirit will be coming in big time! The Holy Spirit will help you in being able to understand the knowledge that God may be trying to give you on something. The Holy Spirit will help illuminate your mind so you can fully understand what is being given to you. The Holy Spirit will also help you with the last and final step – which is being able to have the wisdom to use or apply that knowledge to a real life working situation.

Example – say God is calling you to be a great heart surgeon:

First, God will arrange to make sure that you are given all of the working knowledge that you will need to become a great heart surgeon.

Second, God will then make sure that you have the ability to fully understand all of the knowledge that He will give to you on how to be a great heart surgeon.

Third, God will then complete His work with you in making sure that you have the actual wisdom to be able to apply that knowledge so that you can then do real live heart surgeries in real life situations.

The above three step process can be done by God with each and everyone of you on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life. It is just a matter of you being willing to seek after whatever it is God wants you to seek after. Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom direct from God on a wide variety of matters and issues in your life is available to all of His children if they would only be willing to spend the time to seek after it!

~Bits and Pieces of "Seeking after the Knowledge of God"

PRAYER

To Parent With Wisdom

Father, I come before Your throne of grace asking for wisdom that is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. You promised to give generously, without finding fault, if I ask without doubting. So, I believe that I have received, and I set my heart and mind to believe and not doubt. Give me the grace to be single-minded, stable in all I do with my children and for them.

Lord, You give wisdom, and from Your mouth come knowledge and understanding. Thank You for teaching me wisdom in the inmost place. I declare and decree that my mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. If I am wise when I instruct and correct my children, wisdom will reward me.

As an imitator of You, my heavenly Father, I will extend grace and mercy to my children. Lord, as I delight myself in You, my heart is becoming more flexible, and I am replacing rigidity with prudence and common sense.

In the name of Jesus, I repent of and renounce the berating of my children, asking for Your forgiveness for those times that I have spoken reckless words that have pierced my children like a sword. Cause my words of wisdom to bring healing to their emotional wounds. In the name of Jesus, I rebuke and renounce, crush and smash, the stronghold of pride that breeds quarrels with my children. I will seek out wise counsel and listen to sound advice. The fear of the Lord teaches me wisdom, and humility comes before honor. I will appropriately humble myself by admitting the wrongs I have done to my children, and will ask for their forgiveness so that we may all be healed.

I desire to be a wise person who is discerning, and to speak pleasant words that promote instruction. My heart will guide my mouth, and my lips will promote instruction. By wisdom our house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Give me the grace to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Jesus has been made unto me wisdom, and I will keep myself under control.

Father, forgive me for the times I have corrected my children in anger. It is the rod of correction that imparts wisdom; my children will not have to raise themselves. I will discipline them while I still have the chance and will resist the temptation to indulge them. Thank You for hearing my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Scripture References:

James 3:17 amp Proverbs 12:20 niv

James 1:5 niv Proverbs 16:21-23 niv

Proverbs 2:6 Proverbs 24:3,4 niv

Psalm 51:6 James 1:19 amp

Psalm 49:3 1 Corinthians 1:30

Proverbs 9:10-12 niv Proverbs 29:11

Proverbs 12:18 Proverbs 22:15 

Proverbs 13:10 niv Proverbs 19:15 message

Proverbs 24:6 amp Proverbs 15:33

James 5:16

©2013 Germaine Copeland and Word Ministries, Inc.

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Growing in the Knowledge of God - Day 8 - The Holy Spirit, Our Helper and Guide

Now that we know God and Jesus want to release Their knowledge direct to us from Their throne room in heaven – how is this knowledge actually transmitted to us? This will now bring us into the next set of Scripture verses.

These next three verses will tell us that this knowledge is given to the Holy Spirit – and then the Holy Spirit, who is already living on the inside of us, will be the One to transmit all of this knowledge to us! The Holy Spirit will thus become your personal Guide and Teacher in this life. It will be His job to impart and transmit all of this knowledge direct to you once you start to seek after it.

Here are three very powerful verses from Scripture showing us that the Holy Spirit will now be the One who will transmit the knowledge of God direct to us.

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10)

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH …” (JOHN 16:13)

The very first verse lays the foundation when it says that no one knows the things of God except the Holy Spirit – and that the Holy Spirit has been given to each and every one of us in order to reveal the things that God wants to reveal to us. In other words, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to release the knowledge of God direct to us!

The second verse then confirms the first verse when it says that the Holy Spirit will be our Teacher and that He will “teach us all things.” Notice the word “all” - that He will teach us “all things.”

Think about what is being said in this verse. This statement being made by God in that the Holy Spirit can teach us all things is a maximum intense type of statement being made by God. God is telling us that He is willing to go more than overboard in order to teach us things and to transmit His knowledge to us. Then the verse even goes one step further when it says that the Holy Spirit can literally bring back up to your remembrance, when you may need it, the knowledge that He has already given to you!

A perfect example of this is for those who really study the Bible in order to get it really worked and assimilated into their minds and spirits. What you will find start to happen if you are willing to spend some good quality time to get the Word worked into you – is that the Holy Spirit will bring back up to your memory the appropriate Scripture verses when you may need them on the spot when preaching or talking to others about God and Jesus. You will literally see these verses float right up out of your spirit in front of your mind’s eye right at the moment that you will need them. This is literally a supernatural transmission of knowledge direct to your mind by the Holy Spirit Himself!

And not only can the Holy Spirit do this with Scripture verses – but He can also do this with any other bits of knowledge that He may want to give to you. He can give you His words of knowledge and wisdom all day long on whatever else you may need His help on. This is why the Holy Spirit is called “the Helper” in the second verse above. The Holy Spirit cannot help you unless He is able to transmit His words of knowledge and wisdom to you as you will need them.

The last verse says that not only will the Holy Spirit be our Helper and Teacher in this life – but that He will also be our Guide in this life. Think about those three words – Helper, Teacher, and Guide! This is a powerful, three-fold ministry that the Holy Spirit has with each born-again believer.

Also, the last verse says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into “all” truth. Again, notice the word “all” - all truth – not just some or part of the truth. If you can learn to be led by the Holy Spirit and pick up when He starts to try and communicate with you, you can literally start to receive the knowledge of God in every area of your life where you need God’s knowledge and guidance to help get you safely through!

~Bits and Pieces of "Seeking after the Knowledge of God"  

PRAYER

To Walk in God’s Wisdom and His Perfect Will

Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being. You adopted me as Your child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with Your pleasure and will. I pray that I may be active in sharing my faith, so that I will have a full understanding of every good thing I have in Christ.

Father, I ask You to give me a complete understanding of what You want to do in my life, and I ask You to make me wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way I live will always honor and please You, and I will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, I will learn to know You better and better.

I roll my works upon You, Lord, and You make my thoughts agreeable to Your will, so my plans are established and succeed. You direct my steps and make them sure. I understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is for I am not vague, thoughtless, or foolish. I stand firm and mature in spiritual growth, convinced and fully assured in everything willed by God.

Father, You have destined and appointed me to come progressively to know Your will — that is to perceive, to recognize more strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with Your will. I thank You, Father, for the Holy Spirit Who abides permanently in me and Who guides me into all the truth — the whole, full truth — and speaks whatever He hears from the Father and announces and declares to me the things that are to come. I have the mind of Christ and hold the thoughts, feelings, and purposes of His heart.

So, Father, I have entered into that blessed rest by adhering to, trusting in, and relying on You, in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah! Amen.

Scripture References:

Revelation 4:11 NIV Colossians 4:12 AMP

Ephesians 1:5 NIV Acts 22:14

Colossians 1:9,10 NLT 1 Corinthians 2:16 AMP

Proverbs 16:3,9 AMP Hebrews 4:10

Ephesians 5:16 AMP

©2013 Germaine Copeland and Word Ministries, Inc. 

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