Daily Devotional – Monday, November 9, 2026
Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days.
Proverbs 19:20 (NKJV)
Have you ever ignored someone’s advice because you were sure you already knew what to do? Perhaps you later wished you had listened because you fell into the very hole you were being warned to avoid. A child may ignore a parent, a young person may dismiss a teacher, or an adult may reject a friend’s warning, yet rejecting advice could save the recipient from trouble tomorrow.
The Advice You May Be Tempted to Ignore
Today’s key text gives us basic advice about listening and learning. Solomon tells us to do two things: listen to counsel and receive instruction. Listening means giving someone our attention. Receiving means allowing the counsel we receive to teach us, correct us, or even change the way we conduct ourselves. It takes a humble person to follow Solomon’s advice, especially when one is required to give up on something they love.
We are finite human beings who cannot see the future, but those who have experienced a misfortune or have a better understanding of a matter can fill that gap to an extent. Wise people are teachable because they accept to listen to the one who has walked before them. They acknowledge that they do not know everything and are even willing to take a correction they did not want to hear.
The Lesson You Could Learn Too Late
How more practical and superior would our decision-making and actions be if we followed this counsel? Would we not avoid painful consequences if we asked someone we trust what they think about a choice we were about to make? It could be a parent, teacher, pastor, older relative, mentor, or good friend. There is no shame in asking for help. A simple piece of advice can prevent a very difficult mistake.
What decision are you making right now? Before you rush ahead, stop and ask whether there is someone whose wise counsel can improve the quality of that decision. You may not like everything that person tells you, and you do not have to follow everything they tell you. However, listen with an open heart. God can use the right person’s words to help you see clearly and choose a better path today.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me a humble heart that listens and learns. Help me receive wise counsel, accept correction, and make choices that will help me grow in wisdom.
