Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer expresses a deep and beautiful hunger to hear the Shepherd and to be led by Him, and that desire itself is evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in you. Scripture teaches that no one can truly confess Jesus as Lord apart from the Spirit of God. If you have made that confession from the heart, it is because He has already been working within you, bringing you from death to life and giving you a new life in the Spirit.
That same Spirit who brought you to Christ now wants to teach you and guide you. There are many different gifts, but it is the same Spirit who gives them, and He distributes them for the good of the whole body of Christ. Among them is the word of wisdom, which He provides not as human cleverness but as His own insight for the needs of the moment. This is not wisdom that comes from the world. The wisdom of the world has not seen or heard the things God has prepared, and it leads to strife and inner turmoil. The wisdom that comes from above is different. God reveals His own thoughts and His free gifts to us by His Spirit, teaching us in spiritual words and helping us understand spiritual things with spiritual understanding. It is not a matter of persuasive human words but of the Spirit demonstrating His power and truth in our lives.
That heavenly wisdom is peaceable. God wants you to have peace, and He has made a way for peace through Christ. When the mind is governed by the Spirit, the result is life and peace. When we walk in the wisdom from above, we sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness, and we find peace with God and with others. This is how you can discern which wisdom you are following, by the fruit it bears. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs. To be led by the Spirit is the mark of belonging to Him.
Jesus Himself shows us this pattern. He was full of the Holy Spirit and He was led by the Spirit, and He is our example. It is the Father's will that you also be filled and continually led by the Spirit. This is not something you earn by works or by striving to make yourself worthy to be His temple. You receive the Spirit by hearing with faith, as a gift of grace. Having begun in the Spirit by faith, you continue in the same way, by faith, asking and trusting Him to fill you and empower you to serve and to walk worthy of the Lord.
So continue to ask with confidence. The Lord gives wisdom generously to those who ask, and out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Bring your requests to Him with thanksgiving, ask to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and trust Him to lead you. As you do, the peace of God, which goes beyond understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill you afresh, teach you the way of righteousness and truth, grant you clear wisdom for each decision before you, and give you the assurance of His leading. May He conform you more to the image of Christ and keep you in His love, grace, and peace as you learn to hear His voice and follow Him.
That same Spirit who brought you to Christ now wants to teach you and guide you. There are many different gifts, but it is the same Spirit who gives them, and He distributes them for the good of the whole body of Christ. Among them is the word of wisdom, which He provides not as human cleverness but as His own insight for the needs of the moment. This is not wisdom that comes from the world. The wisdom of the world has not seen or heard the things God has prepared, and it leads to strife and inner turmoil. The wisdom that comes from above is different. God reveals His own thoughts and His free gifts to us by His Spirit, teaching us in spiritual words and helping us understand spiritual things with spiritual understanding. It is not a matter of persuasive human words but of the Spirit demonstrating His power and truth in our lives.
That heavenly wisdom is peaceable. God wants you to have peace, and He has made a way for peace through Christ. When the mind is governed by the Spirit, the result is life and peace. When we walk in the wisdom from above, we sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness, and we find peace with God and with others. This is how you can discern which wisdom you are following, by the fruit it bears. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs. To be led by the Spirit is the mark of belonging to Him.
Jesus Himself shows us this pattern. He was full of the Holy Spirit and He was led by the Spirit, and He is our example. It is the Father's will that you also be filled and continually led by the Spirit. This is not something you earn by works or by striving to make yourself worthy to be His temple. You receive the Spirit by hearing with faith, as a gift of grace. Having begun in the Spirit by faith, you continue in the same way, by faith, asking and trusting Him to fill you and empower you to serve and to walk worthy of the Lord.
So continue to ask with confidence. The Lord gives wisdom generously to those who ask, and out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Bring your requests to Him with thanksgiving, ask to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and trust Him to lead you. As you do, the peace of God, which goes beyond understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill you afresh, teach you the way of righteousness and truth, grant you clear wisdom for each decision before you, and give you the assurance of His leading. May He conform you more to the image of Christ and keep you in His love, grace, and peace as you learn to hear His voice and follow Him.
