Setting Your Mind to Gain Understanding

Daniel 10:12  Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

            Most Christians truly desire to know more about God’s Word. Many have favorite verses they have memorized, perhaps from childhood. So the questions come; why are so many Christians hesitant to study the scriptures for themselves? Why do we prefer synthesized versions and paraphrases of the Bible rather than good solid translations? Where is our motivation to learn?

            I am convinced that the Bible is not a difficult book for the common person to understand. I am convinced that it only takes a willingness to spend time reading, looking up a few unfamiliar words, and using a few quality resources to get a “sense” of the time/place/people involved in the passage being studied. And most significantly, it takes a willingness to spend time in prayer asking God to guide your understanding.

            For example, I know that Daniel is considered to be a book of prophecy. While I do not claim to have much knowledge or wisdom in understanding prophecy; I do know that chapters 7-10 of Daniel chronicle many dreams and visions; that these occurred during the reigns of Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus (kings of Babylon); and that in each case, proper understanding was provided to Daniel because he humbled himself and prayed for understanding. So even if I only have a small amount of understanding myself—I have enough to know from the example of Daniel that God hears each request we make, and that he responds if we will come to him with a humble heart.

            Tomorrow, we may look at an example from Hebrews of a group who seemed uninterested in learning. But for now, my prayer for you echoes the prayer of Paul for the Colossians, along with the encouragement of James:

Colossians 1:9-10  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way…

James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

            Thank you for listening to our prayers. Thank you for responding to our humble requests for understanding. We confess our lack of motivation to delve deeper into your Word and our tendency to depend on others to study for us. We ask for a heart willing to learn the rich truths in your Word.

            In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

 

The devotional Setting Your Mind to Gain Understanding appeared first on Write From My Heart at writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com