King David knew the importance of daily prayers and petitions. He was a king, and as such, needed God’s wisdom, strategy, divine protection and provision for him and his people. He also loved God and His presence. He knew that without a personal daily relationship with God, he would not be able to rule righteously, and his enemies would destroy him. In Psalms 5:3 (EHV), David declared: “Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I lay out my requests in front of you, and I watch for your answer”. David went before the Lord every single morning. This was one of his greatest disciplines. Every day he laid out his requests before the Lord, and he expected God’s response every day. The Lord Jesus told us to pray every day. Here you can see two powerful instructions emphasizing the paramount importance of daily prayer, daily relationship with God, and daily expectation of God’s response to us. Make a self assessment and see if this is part of your daily discipline. If not, you are missing out on receiving God’s daily wisdom and provision. Think about it, most people won’t start their day without watching the news or checking what their twitter buddies are tweeting rather than seeking the Lord and receiving His wisdom every day. If that is the case, shame on us!
Who should we listen to? This is important because we can only respond to our future and to our challenges with the knowledge that we currently possess. If we don’t have the right information, it can be disastrous to us. The other day the network news reported that a police officer entered her home and found someone in her apartment. She shot and killed the alleged “intruder”. However, it turned out that she had entered her neighbor’s apartment and killed an innocent man! Wrong information and understanding can and will hurt you and others. Therefore, we absolutely need to make sure: (1)to read the Word and seek God’s wisdom, (2) our information is correct, and (3)surround ourselves with the right people in order to get sound advice, wisdom and information. Ecclesiastes 7:5 (GW) says: “It is better to listen to wise people who reprimand you than to fools who sing your praises”. The Amplified version of Ecclesiastes 7:5 says it this way: “It is better to listen to the rebuke of the wise man and pursue wisdom Than for one to listen to the song of fools and pursue stupidity”. We are all connected to many people, whether at work, in our community, family and even church. This means that we are always hearing many pieces of advice or information. The challenge is to filter out any and all foolish and wrong information, and accept only the wisdom and understanding that will help us to make the right decisions and live a righteous life. Don’t follow the crowds. Seek wise people and receive their advice and corrections. It will be life and health to you, and you will be able to pursue the paths that will be pleasing to God and benefit your family!
