I love the book of Proverbs. It is perhaps the best book in the Bible about and promoting hearing the Lord for ourselves!! I love hearing from Him and that is largely because of the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge He tells me. And for the same reason I really want the people of this nation seeking His voice. The book of proverbs is more about listening the God and it is about proverbs!!
Prov 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding
It starts of like that. That is to say it starts by telling you to know wisdom and that we need to be able to discern the saying of understanding. It you don't get it consider "wisdom" might be a person (like perhaps the Holy Spirit) whom you can get to know. And the saying of understand might also mean that "understanding" might be a person (like perhaps the Son of God, Jesus Christ)
Prov 1:20 Wisdom shout in the streets, She lifts her voice in the square.
So Wisdom is a person, like perhaps the Holy Spirit.
Prov 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
So consider that God gives us His Spirit who speaks to us. And from His mouth don't we get knowledge and understanding if we listen.
Prov 7:4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and to understanding your intimate friend.
So again wisdom is a person and understanding also.
Prov 8:14 Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.
One of the names of the Lord is Wonderful Counselor and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, so isn't understanding a name for Jesus Christ in this verse.
The point I am trying to make is not so much that Proverbs calls the Spirit wisdom or that it perhaps is calling Jesus Christ understanding, but rather that if we listen to the God via the Holy Spirit we get wisdom (the Spirit), and understanding (Jesus Christ), and knowledge (the Father). Jesus at one point something about only His Father knew. So if is by listening to God that we do indeed get wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, then how important is it to seek the voice of the Lord.
Now someone might say something about how people like say Einstein didn't seem to know the Lord all that well. But that doesn't necessarily mean that God did not talk to Einstein and give him knowledge and understanding, but only that perhaps God was given the appropriate credit. If we believe God is really in charge we have to believe that was probably what happened. That being the case, those that seek God for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are probably going to get it, simply because they asked and listened.
There are stories out there about people how asked God for a better way and got it. I read something about a peanut farmer that wanted to know a better way to use his peanuts and we got peanut butter. I read about an engineer that had to come up with a better insulating bushing that could handle the electricity coming form hoover dam and got a revelation from God. So what you happen if we got people seeking the Lord for wisdom???
Now I tried this and found out that God is not just about getting you more money. That is not necessarily wise. But He is interested in helping you come up with better ideas about how to do your job better.
When I came to the Lord I was a retail manager, and I used Him for lots of things. I can't tell you the number of times I was having problems and He, by His still small voice, told me how to go about solving problems. He helped me we everything from fixing computers to who to hire. Sometime He just made me laugh at His methods.
Once I needed to put merchandise on display in front of a check stand. Usually I just got something, but this time I asked the Lord what to get. He took me to the stockroom and pointed out a few small boxes way up high. They were too high for me to know what was in them. He told me to use them. It didn't look like enough merchandise, and not everything is right for the front of the check stands. But I got them.
They were too expensive and might be stolen, too big, and there were not enough. Of at least that is what I thought. He said, "Karl, trust Me." So I took them and put them on display. There turned out to be exactly the correct number to fill in the display.
Still they were too expensive and probably wouldn't sell were there and might get stolen. So I keep a close count of them and their sales. The flew out and none got stolen. I was the front end manager, and the director came up to me one day. He told me He was concerned that I put those items at the check stand. They were not what we considered to be a good item for the check stand. They were too big, not a pickup type of item, and would probably get stolen there. They needed to be in a security case.
I listened and knew exactly what He was going to tell me, but I had the figures. I told gave him the figures. Explained and proved that we had not lost a one, that we had sold about ten times the amount we normally sold off that display, and that those items were wasting away lost up high and being over looked in the stockroom. He responded, "Ok Karl, it sounds good." Yeah it was good alright. God is good. So why don't I seek Him even more often. I should. We should.
Wisdom calls out in the street, but do we practice hearing by faith or do we scoff at the idea?
Prov 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding
It starts of like that. That is to say it starts by telling you to know wisdom and that we need to be able to discern the saying of understanding. It you don't get it consider "wisdom" might be a person (like perhaps the Holy Spirit) whom you can get to know. And the saying of understand might also mean that "understanding" might be a person (like perhaps the Son of God, Jesus Christ)
Prov 1:20 Wisdom shout in the streets, She lifts her voice in the square.
So Wisdom is a person, like perhaps the Holy Spirit.
Prov 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
So consider that God gives us His Spirit who speaks to us. And from His mouth don't we get knowledge and understanding if we listen.
Prov 7:4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and to understanding your intimate friend.
So again wisdom is a person and understanding also.
Prov 8:14 Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.
One of the names of the Lord is Wonderful Counselor and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, so isn't understanding a name for Jesus Christ in this verse.
The point I am trying to make is not so much that Proverbs calls the Spirit wisdom or that it perhaps is calling Jesus Christ understanding, but rather that if we listen to the God via the Holy Spirit we get wisdom (the Spirit), and understanding (Jesus Christ), and knowledge (the Father). Jesus at one point something about only His Father knew. So if is by listening to God that we do indeed get wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, then how important is it to seek the voice of the Lord.
Now someone might say something about how people like say Einstein didn't seem to know the Lord all that well. But that doesn't necessarily mean that God did not talk to Einstein and give him knowledge and understanding, but only that perhaps God was given the appropriate credit. If we believe God is really in charge we have to believe that was probably what happened. That being the case, those that seek God for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are probably going to get it, simply because they asked and listened.
There are stories out there about people how asked God for a better way and got it. I read something about a peanut farmer that wanted to know a better way to use his peanuts and we got peanut butter. I read about an engineer that had to come up with a better insulating bushing that could handle the electricity coming form hoover dam and got a revelation from God. So what you happen if we got people seeking the Lord for wisdom???
Now I tried this and found out that God is not just about getting you more money. That is not necessarily wise. But He is interested in helping you come up with better ideas about how to do your job better.
When I came to the Lord I was a retail manager, and I used Him for lots of things. I can't tell you the number of times I was having problems and He, by His still small voice, told me how to go about solving problems. He helped me we everything from fixing computers to who to hire. Sometime He just made me laugh at His methods.
Once I needed to put merchandise on display in front of a check stand. Usually I just got something, but this time I asked the Lord what to get. He took me to the stockroom and pointed out a few small boxes way up high. They were too high for me to know what was in them. He told me to use them. It didn't look like enough merchandise, and not everything is right for the front of the check stands. But I got them.
They were too expensive and might be stolen, too big, and there were not enough. Of at least that is what I thought. He said, "Karl, trust Me." So I took them and put them on display. There turned out to be exactly the correct number to fill in the display.
Still they were too expensive and probably wouldn't sell were there and might get stolen. So I keep a close count of them and their sales. The flew out and none got stolen. I was the front end manager, and the director came up to me one day. He told me He was concerned that I put those items at the check stand. They were not what we considered to be a good item for the check stand. They were too big, not a pickup type of item, and would probably get stolen there. They needed to be in a security case.
I listened and knew exactly what He was going to tell me, but I had the figures. I told gave him the figures. Explained and proved that we had not lost a one, that we had sold about ten times the amount we normally sold off that display, and that those items were wasting away lost up high and being over looked in the stockroom. He responded, "Ok Karl, it sounds good." Yeah it was good alright. God is good. So why don't I seek Him even more often. I should. We should.
Wisdom calls out in the street, but do we practice hearing by faith or do we scoff at the idea?
