Day 20: Gift of Understanding (Gift of the Holy Spirit) 

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear. – Saint Francis de Sales.

To fear God does not mean nameless fright and horror, nor to evade, nor to put at a distance, nor is it idolization or superstition. Rather, it is admiration, esteem, trust, understanding, caring, obedience, consecration, love, as well as unconditional and uncomplaining worship. To cultivate fear of the Lord, we must grow in delight over the gospel. When we forget that we have been reconciled to God, we can fear God with reverence but not delight. We can acknowledge that God deserves worship but feel unworthy to enter into His presence.

Let us pray that we might fear the Lord as His sons and daughters. Let us ask Him to give us a vision of His holiness and justice that makes us “tremble at His Word” as the prophet Isaiah admonishes us to do (Isaiah 66:5). Let us pray that we might “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:11).

Prayer:

Father, we pray that you would give us a fear of you that leads to fear of nothing else, no one else in this world. A fear of you, reverence for you, awe of you, worship of you, that leads to faith in you and trust in you. God, we pray that you would help us to trust in you with all our heart, with everything we have like Abraham did. (Genesis 22:12)

God, we pray that our hearts will learn how to rightfully fear you. We bow before you, acknowledging you as Lord and Savior of our lives, praising you for your might, your sovereignty, your power, your strength, your mercy, and your justice. We thank you for your unending love even when we are undeserving. We stand in awe of you. We surrender our hearts to you. We put you first, Lord.

In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

• Litany of the Holy Spirit
• 500 Praises to the Holy Spirit (Pray a few of them as you can)

Contributed by: Innocent, Suresh – St Brendan Parish, RIC4