Speaking Wisdom

Proverb 2: 6 -7

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

I asked the Lord for a bit of good news to send today, and He showed me this. I know this will be a word of great comfort to many who receive it today. God is right there in your situation with you, and He has wisdom, knowledge and understanding for you. Isn’t that great? What an encouragement. God does not intend for you to plod through this earth and through your life uniformed. He does not expect you to blunder about until you stumble over the answers you need. His idea is that He give you the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that you need. He has it stored up for you, for just this day.

Now, how are you to receive this wisdom from God? Well, you are probably not going to get your Word of wisdom from the TV. One thing you can do is what I did today. I asked God for what I wanted and then I opened my Bible and there it was. Now that is the number one way God is going to communicate with you. If you never open that book you are going to have a hard time.

God also speaks to us in our own internal ear. You have a thought; you hear a thought go through your head and realize that it was not your thought. That was God talking with you. That is how He does it. You have got to shut down the noise in your environment and your mind, though, to allow that communication. God will also speak to you through other people. Maybe the “Word of the Day” reaches you and it was just what you needed to hear. Perhaps your preacher teaches like he or she has been reading your mail. God uses people, especially those dedicated to Him, to give you exactly what you need.

First, realize that God has stored up wisdom for you. Know that it is His intent that you draw from His storehouse. Then talk with Him. Tell Him what you need and want. You are why He built and filled the storehouse in the first place. Lastly, listen. Listen to your pastors, teachers and preachers. Listen to what God may be saying to your own ear. And open your Bible. Be attentive to listening because God is going to supply your need.

Communing

Luke 24: 15          KJV

And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

Ministers, me included, are always telling you to commune with God but what does that mean and how do you do it? Here is a definition for the verb commune: to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings, to be in intimate communication or rapport. Does that help?

The first level of communion is communication. That seems logical and reasonable, doesn’t it? They are from the same root word. Even think about taking communion at church. At its core, it means to commune with God or to communicate with Him. Secondly, this is not ordinary conversation. It is not business talk or casual chatter. Communing with God has an intimate component. I encourage you to talk with God about the weather and well, everything, but communion adds your intimate thoughts and your feelings. When we talk about communing with God, we mean more than just chatting with Him.

Notice also that communion involves an interchange of thoughts and feelings. Not only are we to share our innermost thoughts, hopes, dreams, and feelings with Father but He speaks too and we share in His intimate thoughts and feelings. This is a key component of communing with Him. It is as much about listening to Him as it is about sharing our thoughts. Communion is a heart felt open communication between you and Yahweh.

I think this understanding might impact your thoughts and practice of taking communion. Actually, I hope it will. Further, it should certainly impact your prayer life. Don’t leave out the word rapport as you consider what communing with God means. Think about talking with your dearest friend about your deepest thoughts.

Ultimately, I hope this clarifies communing with God for you. God isn’t looking for us just to pray. His desire is that we go hang out with Him, sharing our intimate thoughts and feelings and listening to Him as well. Take some quiet time for you and God to just be still together. If you have difficulty being still, then let’s work on that together. Call me or write me by replying to this devotion. Secondly, give yourself time to work into this model. You may have to do it for a while before it becomes comfortable. No worries. Just begin. Today, when you speak with the Lord, slow yourself down. Take a few minutes when you aren’t driving your car or pumping gas to reach into your inner self and ask what is going on in there. Then share it with Dad. Don’t make this weird or cumbersome. Remember, this is conversing with your best friend about that which is closest to your heart and then listening as He responds.

My People

Jeremiah 31: 33

I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Relationship; that is what this whole Christianity thing is about. At a very basic level Christianity is not a religion. Religion is what happens after people believe in our Father but the fundamental desire of our Father is not to be worshiped and served. His fundamental purpose is to be in relationship with us and to provide the means by which we can be in relationship with Him. The reason Jesus came to the earth was to restore that “way” to the Father for us. Jesus is “the way” (John 14: 6). By and through him we travel back into a close, personal relationship with the Lord, our God.

A relationship of any kind requires input by more than one person. In other words, relationships require two-way communication; give and take. Many Christians have a very one dimensional connection with the Lord. We can have so much more and it is God’s desire that we do. As we open our minds to what it means to develop a good relationship with another person, we begin to also open our hearts to what it means to do the same with our Father God. As we open our hearts and minds to Him, He is better able to direct us and thus lead us into a deep and meaningful relationship with Him. He really will teach you all kinds of things about walking with Him like Adam and Eve walked with Him in the Garden of Eden. As we treat him as a person of value rather than as a distant God, we will really move into an intimate place with Him and I can think of nothing greater than that.