Clarity and Discernment

"Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, 

but the Lord delivers him from them all." 

(Psalm 34:19)

Which voice are you listening to most, the voice of the world or the voice of the Lord??

God of Clarity and Discernment,

Thank you that you are faithful in all you do. Your Word is right and true and you love justice and righteousness. Thank you for your unfailing love. Thank you for deliverance from our enemies, especially the enemy of our souls. Sometimes the enemy speaks in quiet, simple ways as he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Sometimes the enemy speaks in loud, pompous ways as he did when Hezekiah's kingdom was threatened. Sometimes the enemy speaks in the chaos of our world and circumstances in ways that make it hard to hear the Voice of the Lord. Give us spiritual ears to hear your Voice, your Word, and your Truth. Put to death the lies of the enemy. Help each of us to hold fast to you - to follow your Word and your Way, so that, when our adversaries come against us, we are delivered by you. Give us overflowing insight, understanding, wisdom, and especially discernment in this day. In the strong name of Christ we pray, Amen and Amen!

"For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love." (Psalm 33:4-5)

"I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.
I have taken an oath and confirmed it,
that I will follow your righteous laws.” (Psalm 119:104-106)

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God really said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?”’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.”’ The serpent said to the woman, ‘You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” (Genesis 3:1-7a; NASB)

"5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. .... 17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 18 They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

"19 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: “‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?.....28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?"

"...When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah [the prophet], 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”

"...32 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
33 By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city, declares the Lord.
34 I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’
"35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew." (2 Kings 17-19)