Ask for Wisdom
Not gold rings, nor fame or wealth, but King Solomon in 1 Kings 3 pleased God when he chose to pray asking for wisdom. This made me consider the importance of seeking wisdom in our journey to pleasing our Savior! Let’s take a look at the animal we most connect with wisdom.
Most people have heard at one time or another about the ‘Wise old Owl’. I never thought twice about why an owl would be connected to wisdom, but after my Father-in-law sent a picture of an owl he saw, it stemmed an interesting conversation I felt was worth sharing regarding owls.
After researching facts about owls, I was completely surprised by the results. Found on every continent except Antarctica, Owls are well known for its sharp vision and keen observation, but did you know:
1- Wisdom is a result of Uncommon Vision
Owls don’t have eyeballs. Rather, they’re more like eye tubes. They’re elongated and held in place by “sclerotic rings,” a bony structure in the skull. Because of this, owls can’t really move or roll their eyes. That’s why they have heightened mobility in their necks.
Because the eyes are forward-facing, owls have binocular vision similar to humans, meaning they can see an object with both eyes at the same time. This gives owls a great ability to judge height, weight and distance.
Owls only have a 110-degree field of view with about 70 degrees of binocular vision. But what they lack in binocular vision they make up for in extraordinary night vision and far-sightedness. However, because they are far-sighted, they can’t see objects up close. When they catch prey, they use filoplumes — small hair-like feathers on their beaks and feet — to feel out their food.
Finally, owls have not one, not two, but three eyelids: one is for blinking, one is for sleeping, and one is for keeping those precious peepers clean.
2- Wisdom allows you to see the enemy at all times
Imagine having the ability to see behind you. On Defense we always tell our players to keep their head on a swivel to see both the ball and their man. Owls take this gift to a whole new level!
Okay so let’s clear one thing up right away. Owls can’t turn their necks 360 degrees. It looks like they can, but it’s actually only 135 degrees in either direction from facing forward. This gives them an amazing total of 270 degrees of movement.
It’s not easy to turn your head all the way to see over your shoulders, so owls have some special adaptations. First, instead of seven vertebrae in their necks like the average bird, owls have double that number! But their adaptations go well beyond that. They have extra upgrades that help them survive while they turn their heads so dramatically and quickly. They have alternative blood vessels routing blood to the head, blood pooling systems to keep blood circulating to and from the brain when their neck movement cuts off circulation, and air-cushioned vessel casings so they don’t rupture a blood vessel when snapping their neck around 135 degrees to look over their left shoulder.
3- Wisdom comes from the ability to listen!
Many species of owls have ears that are not only placed asymmetrically on their head but are also different sizes. The two differently sized and placed ears receive sound at slightly different times, providing the birds with an exceptional ability to pinpoint the location of sound; when a sound is equally loud in both ears, the owl knows it has zeroed in on the source and distance.
Meanwhile, their flattened faces funnel sound to the ears, magnifying it so that they can detect even the slightest sound from tiny prey.
4- Wisdom is often a result of being unnoticed!
Owls have the ability to be completely quiet if they want to swoop in on fast-moving prey. To accomplish this, they have broad wings that allow them to glide and minimize flapping, which is what creates most of the noise from a flying bird. Also, many species of owls have special flight feathers that minimize sound when flapping their wings.
Along the leading edges of the primary flight feathers are stiff fringes, reminiscent of the teeth of a comb, that act to reduce turbulence. Then on the trailing edges of the same feathers are soft fringes, sort of like the frayed edges of a torn piece of cloth, which further reduces remaining turbulence. The wings are also covered in downy feathers to dampen sound even more.
With these specially designed feathers, instead of the woosh-woosh-woosh sound we hear from the wing beats of large birds like ravens, it’s difficult to hear owls at all. This gives them the ability to sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
5 – Wisdom is the ability to lock in effortlessly on your goal and desires!
Owls have a foot structure called zygodactyl. Owls have four toes, three of which face forward and one backward when flying. However, when perched or grasping prey, the outer front toe can swivel back so that two toes face forward and two face backward. This allows an owl a better grip on prey or a branch.
But for a truly exceptional grip, owls have the ability to lock their toes around an object so that they don’t need to continually contract their muscles. Maximum grip with minimal effort.
These five facts far exceeded my understanding of why owls are considered wise. All of these God given gifts have placed owls at a special place at the top of their food chain.
Wisdom does the same thing for us. Praying for Godly wisdom is something each of us should pray for daily. We should seek knowledge from both God’s Word and from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a special gift sent to us for this specific purpose of guiding us and giving us gifts of knowledge and power! What an amazing gift Jesus sent back to us!
Lord make us Wise like Owls with the wisdom to worship you continuously for being the creator of everything, To YOU BE ALL THE GLORY! Give us your vision so we can even see in the darkness your glory. Help us see our enemies attacks, so we can defeat him for your glory. Lord give us ears to hear your voice, so we can follow your plan not ours for your glory. Father help us to learn to be silent so we can hear you, and attack on your command and in your power for your glory. Father help us lock in on your goal and plan for our lives ALL FOR YOUR GLORY!
Owl facts came from the following link site!
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/5-owl-facts-that-will-amaze-you
Photo by Todd Steitle on Unsplash