God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Have you ever read any of Dr. Ben Carsons books?  If you haven’t, let me tell you that if you choose to read them the result will be that you will either:

A.  Feel like a sloth compared to what he has accomplished in his life, or

B. Be motivated to pursue the talents that God has put inside of you.

He is such an accomplished man and his books are wonderful. When I bought his book entitled “You Have A Brain, A Teens Guide To T.H.I.N.K.  B.I.G” I bought it intending for my daughters to learn something from this wonderful man.  But, I had a free evening one night so I opened the book- it was so good that I couldn’t stop reading it until I came to the end.

One of the stories that Mr. Carson shared in the book, caught my attention.  It took place during his early college years and it clearly shows how God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. It is another example about how God speaks to us. This is how is goes…

Ben Carson attended Yale University for his undergraduate studies. He was such a good high school student that he decided to continue his high school tactic of cramming for exams the night before, thinking that he could still get exceptional grades.   This didn’t work very well at an Ivy League University.  The result of this study technique was that he was failing Chemistry – a required course for all of the pre-med students.  He knew that if he did well on the final exam, all of the other prior grades in that class would be thrown out and the professor would take the grade of the final exam for his final grade.  While Ben was sitting distraught at the predicament he got himself into, he decided to pray:

“Lord, I need your help! I’ve always thought you wanted me to be a doctor.  But I can’t stay in pre-med if I fail this class.  Please either let me know what else I ought to do, or perform a miracle and help me pass this exam.”  (Pg.81)

Ben studied until midnight the night before the exam and then ended his night in prayer- “God, please forgive me for failing you.”

Now the miracle.

During the night Ben dreamed that he was sitting in the chemistry lecture class all alone.  A shadowy figure walked into the dream and began writing chemistry problems on the board.  Then the figure worked the problems as Ben watched.  Early the next morning, Ben woke up and jotted down all of the problems, remembering most of his dream with surprising clarity.  When Ben got into the classroom that morning and looked at the exam placed in front of him, he discovered that every problem in his dream was on the exam. He worked quickly through the exam. As the test was near the end, he had forgotten a few things but he was confident that he passed. He then walked around campus for an hour thanking God and promising God that he would do a better job of using his brain.  He would discipline himself to learn how to study throughout the courses he took and  not rely on cramming.

Now there are a few things I want to point out about this miracle:

Ben trusted that God could work a miracle in his life if He wanted to.

Ben offered a bold prayer- if you don’t help me I will fail.

Ben asked for forgiveness for his prior cavalier attitude toward his studies.

Ben thanked God for the miracle and promised the Lord that he wouldn’t take his gift of a great intellect casually.

Ben Carson knew how to pray.  He knew how to get God’s attention. Praise to God, asking for forgiveness for sin and giving thanks to God are gateways into the presence of God.  Mr. Carson had full confidence that the Lord is able to perform miracles in anyone willing to submit themselves to Him.

This way of praying is found throughout the Bible.  I will give you four examples of the many accounts of powerful prayers that God answered in the Bible.  I encourage you to look them up, they are quite inspiring and may even allow you to lean more heavily on our Lord for help.

God does speak to all of us; sometimes in a dream, sometimes through a person’s words and sometimes in a piece of scripture that “jumps off” the pages of the Bible. The Lord is for you, waiting and wanting to help you solve your problems and enrich your life.  Won’t you dig into the Bible and learn more about our Lord? All it will require of you is some of your time, and you will eventually find that the results are breathtaking!

Examples of bold prayers.

“Give me success today” the prayer of Eliezer, Genesis 24:12-14

“Grant me favor” the prayer of Nehemiah, Nehemiah 1:5-11

“Answer me” The prayer of Elijah, 1 Kings 18:36-37

“Give me wisdom” the prayer of Solomon, 2 Chronicles 1:10

I encourage you to seek the Lord’s will for your life and follow His teachings, then pray bold prayers and expect an answer.  When you get an answer please share your experience with others, like Ben Carson did.  This is the way to bring glory to our heavenly Father and receive joy in your life!

God Promise:

“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,* and his ears are attentive to their cry” (Psalm 34:15)

Music For Your Soul:

“God Speaking” by Mandisa.

*Being in right standing with God