And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel. For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses…seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. – 1 Chronicles 22: 12-13; 19

Near the end of King David’s life, he set out to build a grand Temple for the Lord after he sinned by taking a census of Israel.

But because David had shed so much blood in battle during his lifetime, God told him that his son Solomon would have to build it.

Scripture tells us that at this time, Solomon was too young and inexperienced to design the Temple, so David began making preparations for its construction ahead of time, leaving a blueprint for Solomon to follow.

And as David prepared to pass the torch to his son, he gave some powerful words of advice that proved to be fundamentally life-altering for Solomon.

David’s advice to Solomon can be summarized in three simple points:

• Get wisdom and understanding from the Lord
• Be strong and courageous, never losing heart, and
• Seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul

I can imagine young Solomon listening intently to his father’s words, taking them in, letting them seep into his bones, carrying them inside of his heart day and night.

He must have.

Because a short time later when God asked him “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!,” King Solomon spoke of his father David and asked without hesitation for wisdom and knowledge to be able to lead the people of Israel.

Isn’t it amazing that from David’s small seed of advice, grew a King more wise and just than any other leader in Israel’s history?

When I think about my own life, there is one person who comes to mind who gave me life-changing advice.

And that advice was to read the Bible from cover to cover.

The young lady’s exact words were, “Read it from the beginning, even if you don’t understand it. Because how can you say you truly have an understanding of what you believe in if you don’t know what it is?”

From that one piece of advice came a curiosity to study the Word for myself. And everything about my life has changed for the better because of it.

So we must be very intentional when we speak to others.

Because as King Solomon said in Proverbs 18: 21, death and life are in the power of the tongue.

**If anyone has ever given you any life-changing advice, please let me know in the comments!**

Be blessed,

Alexia

Prayer: God, fill me with wisdom and understanding so that I may speak life-affirming, life-giving, and life-changing words to others who I may come across. Help me to be the spark that ignites a powerful flame of change and growth in someone’s life. Help me to be someone who meets others at their point of need at the right place and time. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.