Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily
devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom
of God
Verses for the Day:
17 Bow down thine
ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal
be fitted in thy lips.
Proverbs 22:17-18 (AMP):
17 Listen (consent and
submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind (believing them); your
lips will be accustomed to (confessing) them.
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses in Proverbs
tell us that when we submit to and confess the Word of God in our lives, it
will be pleasant for us. Verse 17 speaks of bowing our ear to hear the
wisdom of the wise and then applying it to our hearts and lives. This simply
means we are not only to listen to God's Word, but we are to submissively obey it as
well. However, according to verse 18, the way we keep God's Words in our mind,
and believe them is to begin "confessing" them. This is because sometimes we
will encounter a battle to be able to hold on to the promises of God, and this
is when we must continue to "confess" in faith what the Bible says about our
problems.
As Christians, our
confession should be what we term a "Bible confession," instead of just a
"positive confession." We are not talking about confessing our sins
here, but rather confessing or acknowledging with our mouth the truths
from God's Word. Certainly the Bible tells us to confess our sins, but
that is not the only confession we need to make. We are also told to
confess or speak out loud the promises of God, in faith,
so we can receive them.
We need to clarify the
difference between the so-called "positive confession" taught by the
success propagators in the world and a "Bible confession." Many times,
their confessions are directed toward "self," not toward God's Word.
They build their "castles in the sky," but they are not founded on the
Word of God; instead they are based on what they desire for themselves.
For example, you will probably never hear them confessing the following
portion of God's Word, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with
him; if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12). We
must begin confessing what the Word of God has to say about our lives
and circumstances, instead of what those in the world may speak about the
situation.
In confessing God's
Word, we must not pick out only the Scriptures we desire, but also the
ones the Lord desires for us. He certainly desires to bless us, but He
also desires to cleanse us. We must be as enthusiastic in our
confessions to be cleansed from all that would offend the Lord, as we
are in confessing the physical blessings He has promised us. We must
learn to set a guard on our mouths, as it is very important to control
our conversation. We will ultimately receive the things that we speak.
If we speak evil long enough, it will come to pass; likewise, if we speak
good.
Psalm 50:23: Whoso offereth
praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright
will I shew the salvation of God.
Proverbs
18:20-21: A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;
and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are
in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit
thereof."
We must not only claim
God's Word, but also learn to speak or "confess" His Word. We must
confess our faith in God's Word. We must not confess lack, as the
Heavenly Father has given us everything we need. We must not confess
defeat, as God has made us more than conquerors. We must not confess
doubt, as God has given us His faith. We are to speak the things that
the Word of God declares as truth.
We easily quote what
men have to say on a subject, and many times we believe them, despite
what the Word of God has to say about it. Yet, we are often hesitant to
quote what God says, because our natural thinking tells us we would be
lying. The devil
causes us to look at our circumstances, rather than the Word.
Circumstances are subject to change, and one of the things that can
cause them to do so is the confession of God's Word over a particular
situation. In fact, the Word of God tells us to confess or talk about
the things we are believing God to do in our lives, and He will bring
them to pass.
Romans 4:20-22:
He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded
that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore
it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Romans 4:17: (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before
him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth
those things which be not as though they were.
We should confess the Word of God over our
problems, instead of just confessing the problem. There are some
so-called "confession teachers" that say we are never to speak anything
negative or anything that is wrong with us, or any problem, but this is
not what the Bible teaches. We can speak out when we are sick or
have a problem; but, we should always immediately speak the Word of God
over that problem. This allows the Holy Spirit to bring the answer
to the problem and that answer will be according to what we speak and
what we believe.
For instance, if I
am under an attack of sickness, there is nothing wrong with telling
people that I am sick and in need of prayer. When I share,
however, it might also be wise to phrase it something like this:
"The doctor says I have a disease, but I am believing that according to
God's promise of healing for His children, that I am healed. Would
you pray and agree with me in prayer for that healing?"
If we do not know what God has to say about
our problem, we need to get our Bibles and study that subject and find
out what He has promised us. There are thousands of promises of
blessing to God's children in the Bible, we just need to read it and
find out what God has promised to do for us.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly
Father, Thank You Lord, for Your many promises of blessing to us, Your children. I
want to receive everything that Jesus died for, when He went to the cross to
save me. Salvation and healing are just the beginning of why You died on that
cross for me, and I do not want Your death to be in vain. I want to receive all
the covenant promises that You suffered for in my behalf. Lord, deliver me of
doubt and unbelief and help me to guard the things I say. May I always
confess what Your Word says, and not allow the devil to rob me of the blessings
that are mine. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Saviour. Amen.
|