Tag: wisdom

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Wisdom Prayer

The Confused Enemy!

The Confused Enemy!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom when my enemy is in confusion. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Saul wanted to find out who was missing from the camp, and Jonathan and his armor-bearer were nowhere to be found. Evidently, they were the source of the commotion coming from the Philistine camp.

1 Samuel 14:20 (ESV) explains what was happening to the Philistines.

“Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.”

The Lord won the battle for the Israelites.

Remember, the Lord can cause confusion among enemies.

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Wisdom Prayer

Trust the Lord to Work!

Trust the Lord to Work!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who trust the Lord to work. In Jesus’ name, amen.

As the Philistines were poised to attack, Jonathan and the young man who carried his armor left the main camp of the Israelites and went to find out about the Philistines.

We learn in 1 Samuel 14:6-15 (ESV) how the Lord was about to use Jonathan and his armor-bearer were to change everything.

“Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.’ And his armor-bearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.’ Then Jonathan said, ‘Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.’ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, ‘Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.’ And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.’ And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.’ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.”

Not every situation will work out the way Jonathan and his armor-bearer’s did. Yet, what Jonathan said makes sense, “It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

Ever felt outnumbered but have trusted the Lord to work?

God can make a way when there seems to be no way.

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Wisdom Prayer

Prepare in Advance!

Prepare in Advance!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who are resourceful and prepare in advance. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In 1 Samuel 13:15-18 (ESV) we learn Saul and his son, Jonathan, assemble men to prepare to fight the Philistines.

According to 1 Samuel 13:19-23 (ESV) the Israelites prepare by paying the Philistines to sharpen their work tools in order to be ready for battle.

“Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, ‘Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.’ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.”

The example of the Israelites preparing to fight can be instructive.

Are you ready for either a man-made or a natural disaster?

Why not take steps to be well-equipped for whatever happens.

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Wisdom Prayer

Unwise Decisions!

Unwise Decisions!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who have made unwise decisions. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Saul was waiting for Samuel seven days to arrive, so Samuel could make a sacrifice. Saul grew increasingly impatient because Samuel did not come. Finally, Saul took matters into his own hands, and Saul does the offering himself.

1 Samuel 13:8-14 (ESV) explains the situation and the consequences.

“He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, ‘Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ‘When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.’ And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’”

This one unwise decision to move ahead with the sacrifice without Samuel cost Saul his kingdom.

Ask the Lord to show you what unwise decisions have you made.

Ask the Lord, if it is appropriate, to allow you to make amends.

At the very least, do not continue to make the same or similar unwise decisions.

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Wisdom Prayer

An Enemy of Superior Strength!

An Enemy of Superior Strength!

I pray for wisdom for those who face an enemy of superior strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What response do you have when you feel outnumbered?

Do you panic? Would it be rational to hide?

In 1 Samuel 13:1-4 (ESV) we learn Saul becomes king and soon thereafter chooses three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand went with Saul and a thousand went with Jonathan. The rest Saul sent home. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba. Saul blew a trumpet, and it was said that Saul had defeated the garrison and this made it so “Israel had become a stench to the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 13:5-7 (ESV) tells us how the Philistines responded and how the people of Israel reacted.

“And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.”

Outnumbered, the people of Israel hide.

Yet, we learn later in Scripture, others would prepare to fight.

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Wisdom Prayer

Serve the Lord with All Your Heart!

Serve the Lord with All Your Heart!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who do not turn aside from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all their heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

At the conclusion of Samuel’s so-called Farewell Address, the people plead with Samuel to pray for them.

His words of wisdom in Samuel 12:19-25 (ESV) offer important guidance and a warning.

“And all the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.’ And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

The people of Israel knew they had done wrong, yet Samuel tells them to “Do not be afraid.” Even with all of the sin, the Lord was not willing to forsake his people.

Are you a situation where you feel you are beyond forgiveness?

Ask the Lord to forgive. If there was hope for the people of Israel, there is hope for the sinner through faith in Christ.

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