Prayer

Heavenly Father, as I come once again to your word on this new day, I give thanks to you for the gift of life. I am sorry that I have not maintained a constant state of thanksgiving in my heart, for you have treated me abundantly better than I deserved. Please help me to get wisdom, please give to me the gift of wisdom, especially that I may rightly fear you through submission to your holy law. Help me to walk in your will, to discern your will, and to fully submit to you in every way. Please continue to reveal to me the unsubmissive areas of my heart, and lead me in the way everlasting. To you be all glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reading

Proverbs 1:7.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...”

Meditation

A sixth implication of fearing God is that we are called to submit to God. Let me take you straight back to Pr 8:13 for another insight: “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.” This verse is saying that you can’t fear God and entertain evil at the same time. It’s a complete contradiction. If you’re willingly sinning, by definition you’re not fearing God and are therefore being foolish. In other words, we cannot have the fear of God without also obeying God. Thus in Proverbs 3:7 we read: “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.” Psalm 112:1 also paints this very clearly: “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!” We see the link in these two passages between fearing God and submitting to God’s commandments.

Be ye doers of the word…

This meditation brings a very serious consideration before each one of us. We must each one ask ourselves: Am I submitting to the will of God? In any decision I’m making, is there any area where I’m unwilling to submit to his will? Is there any secret evil in my life that I am clinging to and embracing? Another important question is: How do we know the revealed will of God? The simple answer is that we must know God’s word, we must be careful students of the Bible. As we study his word, we must then prayerfully eradicate any attitude of unwillingness or practice that is counter to what he would have us do. True, the flesh is weak and we sin much. But there is such a thing as willful stubbornness and resistance to the will of God – that is the essence of foolishness. We must rather fear the LORD and turn away from evil. A continuing study of the Book of Proverbs will be greatly instructive toward that end. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Dear Lord God, there have been many areas in my life where I have held strongholds of devotion to sin over the years. I am daily tempted to embrace and treasure sin. Please forgive me for my willful refusal to submit to you, and please search my heart and know me, see if there be any wicked way within me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Please help me to abound more and more in the knowledge of your revealed will, and may it be my food and drink to embrace and do your will. Save me, Lord, I am yours. Amen.

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