Whether short or long prayer, a critical thing to living victoriously is knowing when affirmative action is needed as opposed to praying. I returned from a trip on a Saturday evening and was informed that the taps were all but dry. I gathered that that had been the case for some two to three days. The household had to resort to the neighbours to get their supply of water while that lasted. My wife called for a plumber to come and have a look at the pumping machine but he was not going to be available until Sunday morning. Just as we were getting set for church on Sunday morning, the plumber showed up. In less than five minutes the machine was up and running. He informed us that the housekeeper must have mistakenly touched something on the machine that led to the malfunction.

” Knowledge is light! It is irreplaceable. The reason for struggles is not because the devil has become more powerful; it is because people have become less knowledgeable.”

On our way to church, I impressed on my wife the importance of knowledge in every situation. Three days of stress to get water was over in less than five minutes when a knowledgeable person showed up. I also stressed the fact that some people would probably resort to prayer, binding and losing instead of taking action based on knowledge, and they would end up prolonging their frustration. Knowledge is light! It is irreplaceable. Just as one will grope in the dark with all the attendant hazards, so will those without knowledge stumble through life. The reason for struggles is not because the devil has become more powerful; it is because people have become less knowledgeable. Our text is clear on this: those without knowledge will self-destruct. When we advocate knowledge, we are not suggesting that you must gain expert knowledge in every field. That of course is impossible. Part of knowledge is deferring to the opinion of those who know what you don’t.