PRAY FOR.....DISCERNMENT

7 On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 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?” 2 Chronicles 1:7-10

If God were to offer you the opportunity to ask anything of Him and He would grant it, what would your request be?  The Lord Himself offered the same to King Solomon, who the Bible called the “wisest man in the world”. Solomon did something which most human beings would never do, but should. He asked for “BIYN” – the original word for “discernment”.

      When you think of all that people would ask for in today’s world: a million dollars; a new car; a house by the beach etc. etc….to ask for the ability to discern would be the last thing people in the 21^st century would ask for. Yet as we mature as Christians, it is indeed the perfect request. The general dictionary definition of Discernment is basically this: insight based on an acute sense of judgment  and understanding. The Christian definition of discernment is a little more involved. It is the ability to not just THINK biblically, but to understand what the Scriptures are saying and apply it to daily life.

We pray for Wisdom and acquire it from God through His Spirit, Study of His Word and Prayer. The ability to take this wisdom and apply it with a certain degree of effectiveness, is discernment. Godly Discernment can only come from an intentional daily walk and pressing in to the Source of all Goodness, Power and Wisdom – Almighty God! It comes from practicing in our bodies and lives what 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 instructs us to do: “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil”.

This means:

-           -  Test all things: i.e. using all our God-given wisdom, tested by experience, prayer and the Bible, to discern what is true and what is of God, when faced with a live situation or circumstance.

-           -  Hold fast what is good: i.e. once you and I have discerned the right course after testing all things,  we hold on to it. We camp there. We stay the course in the righteousness of Christ.

-           -  Abstain from every form of evil: i.e. this then becomes easy, because our holding fast to righteousness after solid discernment warns us off evil temptation and tight spots…and thus, all evil.

What an amazing thing God has done for us! He graciously imparts His Wisdom in any size dose as we can handle then as we pray through this wisdom and worship Him and ask, He gives us His “biyn” – discernment to “work out our salvation”, thereby living the wonderful Christian life to maximum effect!

Father,  we thank You are a good, good Father Who gives good things to all who ask with a repentant and clean heart. We know Your Wonderful Eyes travel to and fro across the entire earth in search of those same hearts who are loyal to You.  We pray right now that You search our hearts and cleanse us from all impurity that we may be found worthy to receive Your Holy Wisdom, the Oracles of Heaven which represent such an amazing benefit of belonging to You and the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank You for drawing us even closer that we may come into our own, discerning the times and the trials and tribulations that we may make decisions based on Godly principles, attitudes and applications completely reliant on Your Amazing Attributes, dear Heavenly Father. We are most grateful above all, for the Cross of Christ which has enabled us to be reconciled to You, so that any of this could even happen in the first place! Thank You, oh God, thank You to the highest and most glorious praise, in the Name of the One Who gave it all that we may be free to serve You – the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY FOUR:
VERSE: 
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me....(Galatians 2:20)
PRAYER:

Oh Most Heavenly and Gracious Father, in my weak estate I look up to You with hope for understanding of what this positional condition of really means! Lord, that the Ancient of Days would step down from Eternity to live as a man for 33 years among the heathen, and even His Half-brothers and sisters who did not believe in Him while He was alive (*until the Resurrection) ....that this King of Creation would be crucified by You for my sake is beyond comprehension. Even more so, oh Ever-loving, Ever-merciful God, is that sinners like we who follow Christ, can have our old sinful nature crucified on that instrument of death, call the Cross, with the Savior and be in a permanent condition of rest, because of it!

Such knowledge is too high, I cannot attain  unto it, Father. But I do willingly, wonderfully and wisely accept my condition of being in the Eternal Kingdom NOW, as one abiding in eternity with the God of Eternity - Three persons, One in Essence! Because of that positional salvation which You have given all who name Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is no longer me calling the shots, but the Holy Spirit - God and Counselor - with Whom You have sealed me until that Day! But as the Gentleman and freedom-loving God You are, You have also given me the free will to mess that relationship up and even grieve Your Spirit, which too many of Your people do, and which I have personally done in the past. Lord, take my will. Not my will, but Thy will be done. Christ lives in me, may I be so completely His in the natural as well as the Inner Man, that the world may know and see Him through my thoughts, words, actions and prayers.

May the Christ who abideth in me, through the Power of the Paraclete, the Source called the Spirit and the Oracles of all Knowledge strengthen my faith and wonder and awe of You, that my dying flesh and earthly man will live the life, the life of abundance in Christ, because You have done exceedingly and above abundantly more than I can ever imagine. But help me to stay in this zone 24/7 when the distractions of the natural and the flesh threaten to take me away, that I may not sin by commission or omission but keep my eyes on my position in Christ, the Crucified Whose love for me kept Him there until Your propitiation was accomplished. Lord this truth, this fact that the Savior, that YOU loved ME and the whole world, that You gave up God the Son emboldens, encourages, enlightens, energizes and brings me to knees....nay, by face before Your Throne in gratitude as I contemplate and think on these things, act on these things and live daily for You, who gave us Christ as Lord, and it is in His Powerful and Almighty Name, I pray, amen.