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Proverbs 2 | The Value of Wisdom

Proverbs 2

My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
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,
guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
    understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
    from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
    and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
    and who are devious in their ways.
16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden[a] woman,
    from the adulteress[b] with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
    and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
    and her paths to the departed;[c]
19 none who go to her come back,
    nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
    and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.


There is a lot to uncover in this passage. I have been neglecting to hear from God, resisting the opportunity to turn to Him in times of temptation, and resisting the reminders to delve into His Word and seek Him out.

God,

I have been so depraved and sinful in prioritizing other things in my life over you. I have been asking you for many things but I have shown weak desire to actually get to know You. God please forgive my rebellious spirit. Let me not give into temptation but to run to You, to fill my mind with scripture so that I can meditate on it. To bring to mind other believers that I can cover in prayer.
I have been taking so many things for granted. I am lazy and unmotivated, sinful beyond belief. Please help me recognize just how awful my sin is, and how much it offends You. This is something I constantly need help in, I'm so weak. 
Lord, this next week I commit to a set schedule of waking up, reading your word, and making sure I start the day with You in mind and dedicating my day to You. I need to be able to be disciplined, not only in my everyday life but also in the spiritual disciplines that should help me build up my faith. At the same time, please don't let me lean on or believe it is my own effort that is allowing me to grow. It is by Your grace alone.
Please let me have a refreshed understanding of the Gospel, knowing full well who You are, who I am before You, the sacrifice You had to make in order for me to be able to encounter You, and the changed life I must commit to as Your servant and a believer and a disciple.


I ask for this so often. I am so weak. God please please help me.

In Jesus' holy and precious name.

I need wisdom. I need God's word. If this weekend has taught me anything it's that sitting under the authority of God's word is essential for my growth as a believer. I learn so much, and evaluate my life against the standards, and it makes me realize more and more my need for God. It protects me from making poor decisions, and enables me to discover areas I need to surrender to God and grow in, so that I can become a better follower and a better brother to other believers.

What I struggle the most with now is setting aside an adequate amount of time for God each day. I feel rushed, I feel obligated. My heart isn't really there. I have so many distractions that I inflict on myself, competing thoughts and hobbies. I need to temper down how much priority I give to these things and value my time with God more. 

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