Topic: Knowledge and Prayer — Tuesday 28, November 2017.
Memorise: But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. – 1 Peter 4:7
Read: Luke 21:34-36 (KJV)
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Bible in One Year: Psalm 69-72, Micah 5:7-6:8, Hymn: Sing Hymn 1 – My Faith Looks Up To Thee
MESSAGE:
In
Philippians 3:10, Paul expressed his burning desire to know Jesus. It is good to have your gaze focused on Jesus and equally important to know Him. Why? It is because what you know determines your position in life. Knowledge is power.
Proverbs 4:7 says,
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge for personal or corporate benefit. This implies that knowledge is the foundation of wisdom. If you want to be wise but you run away from knowledge, wisdom will elude you. How open you are to learning new things demonstrates your readiness to be wise. Men of wisdom like Paul and Daniel were given to reading books. Daniel chapter 9 is a manifestation of how knowledge acquired from the study of books can be applied positively in actions that have serious spiritual implications. Daniel 9:2 says,
“In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
Today, not many people take time to read decent books on various subjects that can add to their knowledge base. For believers, this should not be so. If there are people who should be knowledgeable, it should be believers. We should be conversant with our environment, and we should stay very current.
In Matthew 26:41, Jesus established a link between watching and praying. What are you required to do while watching? You are required to gather information, and to know what is happening around you. God wants you to be informed. Why? Knowledge about your situation will help you pray more effectively with understanding. If you want to succeed as a prayer champion, knowledge is crucial. When you watch, seek knowledge or gather information, it will compel you to pray more often. Find out, those Christians who are prayerless are often those without knowledge. They know too little, and so they do not see the need to pray. If people come to tell you lots of things or if they confide in you, it is because God wants you to stand in the place of intercession for them, rather than becoming a tale-bearer. Are you seeking knowledge? Is what you know making you to pray more?
Key Point: Daniel was provoked into indefinite prayer and fasting exercise by what he understood from what he studied (Daniel 9:1-3). Is your knowledge compelling you to pray?
Hymn 1: My Faith Looks Up To Thee
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Saviour, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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