Bible Verse: “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” Daniel 2:23
Scripture Reading: Daniel 2:20-23; Proverbs 3:13-21; Psalms 119:171
As we have journeyed through wisdom this week, hopefully it has inspired you to make godly wisdom a life pursuit, not just a one-week experiment.
Yesterday, we discussed the importance of evaluating where we are on the pathway to wisdom, ensuring it is still a priority. For today’s devotional, I would like to turn our focus toward having a heart of gratitude to God for the wisdom He freely gives.
The verse we are looking at today is part of a prayer of praise Daniel gives for receiving an interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, a dream that no one else in the land could interpret.
While I’m not sure any kings are asking us for interpretations of their dreams like Daniel, I would bet we speak godly wisdom every day and may not even know we are doing it.
Maybe we surprise ourselves by helping friends navigate challenging situations with helpful solutions that seemingly come out of nowhere.
Perhaps we think the advice we offered our kids couldn’t have come from us because that was too good considering the amount of sleep we were getting.
Maybe it’s a business deal we must walk away from because something feels off, and we find out only later that it was.
When these things happen, or we experience situations where wisdom shows up to help us or others, we should remind ourselves that this is from God, so He deserves the praise. Before Daniel showed up before the king, before he got promoted and rewarded, before he got praise from everyone in the kingdom, Daniel thanked God for the wisdom He had given.
If I’m honest, when I’m being thanked for helpful advice given to others, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t mine and that I shouldn’t take credit for it. This prayer from Daniel is an excellent reminder that I need to be thankful to God for even giving me wisdom and then be quick to give Him credit. How about you?
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for the wisdom You so freely give. Forgive me when I take credit for Your wisdom. Forgive me when I don’t thank You for the wisdom You provide. Help me to make gratitude for this wisdom a priority in my prayer life.
Reflection: When was the last time someone thanked you for advice/wisdom that you gave? Who got the credit for it? Who gets the credit for the wise decisions you have been making?
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