Author: admin

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom in a Persistent Trial

To pray for wisdom in a persistent trial is to pursue the ultimate cause of the problem.

pray for wisdom patiently

At some point, many Christians go through a deep and long trial that no human effort solves, not even the effort of prayer. Naturally we wonder why. The story we explore today might be relevant for you. It shows you might need to pray differently. Instead of continuing to pray that the trial would end, you might need to pray for wisdom about the reason for the trial.

Persistent famine

The story is another from the life of King David.

2 Samuel 21:1 says: “Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, ‘[It is] because of Saul and [his] bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.’” (NKJV)

So David’s need, in fact the need of the entire nation of Israel, was food and water. They had been in a drought and famine for three years. That will get people’s attention. They had just enough supply each day to survive for years, but rainfall and food were minimal.

No doubt, David and the people had cried out to God for provision day after day, week after week, month after month, even year after year—for three years! That is over 1,000 days.

The reason famines came to the covenant people of Israel

Actually they understood the meaning of an extended famine. They had a clear theology for it: God gave rain when his people walked in covenant faithfulness, and God withheld rain when his people broke covenant with him by doing evil. It was as simple as that.

Centuries earlier, through Moses, God had told Israel:

“If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.” (Leviticus 26:3–5)

On the other hand, if they did not listen to the Lord, he said:

“I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.” (Leviticus 26:19–20)

Pray for wisdom in a persistent trial

No doubt, David and many of the people had confessed sins already in general. But the rain had not resumed. So again, with his nation in the terrible grip of famine, “David inquired of the LORD.”

Rather than answering David’s prayer with rain, the Lord answered with wisdom. He told him specifically what sin had brought the famine and why it had persisted despite many prayers. David’s predecessor King Saul had broken a covenant that Joshua and the Israelites had made with a foreign people called the Gibeonites many generations before (see Joshua 9).

God watches over the covenants people make with one another, even ill-advised covenants, as this one had been (again see Joshua 9). He rewards covenant-keeping and punishes covenant-breaking.

So David, now knowing specifically what had caused the famine, gave the Gibeonites justice, “and after that God heeded the prayer for the land” (2 Samuel 21:14).

Persistent trials happen to holy people

However, applying this to our lives, it would be a serious mistake to conclude that every persistent trial we suffer results from some particular sin.

James 1:2–4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (ESV)

So trials come to all Christians, even the most holy of the saints. God allows trials to perfect us.

Therefore the only way to know if God is disciplining us for some particular sin (see Hebrews 12:5–11), for which we need to repent, that our own prayerful soul-searching has not recognized, is to inquire of the Lord, to pray for wisdom. And that is exactly what the very next verse tells us to do. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Takeaway

When we go through a deep and long trial that prayer does not solve, we need to pray for wisdom from God about the reason for the trial. Until we address the reason for some trials, they might persist.

If we inquire of the Lord, and he does not reveal sin in our lives, then we should go on trusting and enduring as James 1:2–4 instructs and not keep suspecting that we must have some hidden sin that is the root of the problem. Such uncertainty is debilitating. It weakens us. It kills faith and leaves us feeling chronically guilty and condemned.

Once again we see how important it is that we develop the ability to pray for wisdom. We need it to be able to know God and his ways, to work through problems and challenges with him, and to see his promises fulfilled in our lives.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom Step-by-Step

God can bring you through complicated situations when you pray for wisdom step-by-step.

pray for wisdom step-by-step

Sometimes we pray for wisdom about simple situations. The situation is simple not in the sense that it is easy to solve or trivial, but that the answer to just one or two crucial questions will answer what is basically just one important need.

At other times we pray for wisdom about complicated situations that have many moving parts. Such is David’s situation in the following story.

As you read, notice two things. First, note the complications in David’s situation, that is, the number of individuals, groups, opponents, and problems he must address. Second, notice how many times David inquires of the Lord and how the narrator wants to call attention to this.

The context of these events: David is living in the wilderness with his personal army of 600 men, avoiding King Saul, who jealously seeks to find and kill him. David and his men have been living in recurring danger, on the move and insecure.

Pray for wisdom step-by-step

1 Samuel 23:1–14 says:

[1] Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” [2] Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

[3] But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” [4] Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

[5] And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

[6] When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech [the high priest of Israel whom King Saul had just murdered] had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. [Note: The ephod of the priest was a vest to which was attached the Urim and Thummim, which were sacred lots used for decision making.]

[7] Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” [8] And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

[9] David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” [10] Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. [11] Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.”

And the LORD said, “He will come down.” [Note: Perhaps David used the Urim and Thummim in this inquiry, but God went beyond the yes or no answer that casting the lots might have provided and spoke his answer.]

[12] Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.”

[13] Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.”

It’s complicated

In this story, David prayed for specific wisdom four times, all of which God answered—succinctly—no extra words, no information beyond what David asked. (Compare these brief answers with the detailed map of upcoming events that the prophet Samuel provided Saul early in their relationship, recorded in 1 Samuel 10:1–13.)

David had to take into account the strength of the Philistine army, as well as the support of his own troops, and then the threat from Saul and his army, and then the loyalty of the residents of Keilah. This was a complicated situation with tens of thousands of people and numerous groups involved. David had to take into account military tactics, geography and travel, troop morale and loyalty, and so on.

And when David inquired, God told him what to do one step at a time.

Three takeaways

1. God can bring you through complicated situations when you pray for wisdom step-by-step.

2. Getting one piece of a complicated puzzle in the right place does not solve the puzzle.

Inquiring of God and getting one answer might not enable you to live happily ever after. When God’s wisdom gave David victory over the Philistines, that led to his being in a new position of danger from Saul, which led to being in danger from the people he had just rescued. So do not be surprised if you need to keep going back to God for additional wisdom.

3. God might give you reassurance when you feel legitimate need to keep asking more questions.

Notice in verses 1–4 that God clearly answered David’s first inquiry, but when David told his troops they objected. Instead of saying, “Men, God told me what to do. You have nothing to worry about,” David went back to God and apparently asked the same question to make sure he heard it right. Remember, they were going into battle; this was a life-and-death question for 600 men.

David also showed his need for reassurance by asking for the ephod from the priest Abiathar, who had just come into the camp. David had not had the ephod available previously, and yet he had inquired of God successfully without it. But now that the ephod is available, he apparently felt this could help him pray for wisdom more effectively.

David needed reassurance; sometimes you need reassurance. If you are not acting in unbelief, God might confirm his answer.

If so, he will give you wisdom not by means of an ephod, or Urim and Thummim. Instead he has given you the Holy Spirit within, who has united with your human spirit, and he has said, “The anointing that you received from him abides in you…his anointing teaches you about everything” (1 John 2:27).

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom to Solve Problems

When we pray for wisdom to solve problems, God sometimes gives answers that are surprising or counter-intuitive.

pray for wisdom to solve problems

On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off for the moon. Two days into the mission, however, the spacecraft’s oxygen tanks exploded. Minutes later the pilot spoke the famous line, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The explosion did not destroy the spacecraft or immediately harm the crew, but getting the crew back to earth alive was in doubt.

Somehow, four days later, through an extraordinary display of problem-solving and engineering and resourcefulness and good decisions and courage and the mercy of God, the spacecraft splashed safely into the South Pacific.

No limits?

If only human ingenuity could solve every problem like that. But for every inspiring story like this, there are thousands in which human resources meet their match. We have a need or face a crisis, and nothing we do answers it. No matter how smart or creative we are, no matter how sophisticated our problem-solving methods, we are stuck and in trouble.

Soon after their exodus from Egypt, Moses and several million Israelites found themselves in a desert and unable to find water. After three days, they found water, but it was bitter and undrinkable. The people began desperately to complain to Moses, and Moses began desperately to cry to God for help.

Divine help came in the form of wisdom: God told Moses what to do. God did not directly sweeten the water himself, which he of course had unlimited ability to do, but rather told Moses how to sweeten it. “The LORD showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:25, ESV)

The counterintuitive log

The log was God’s wisdom for Moses, and it was counterintuitive. If we could transport a scientist to that situation prior to God’s giving his solution, the scientist would not have said that what Moses needed to do was to find a log to throw into the water. The log is an unscientific, seemingly magical solution. Educated readers today might mock this story as mythical, as an example of many supernatural stories in the Bible that they dismiss as impossible occurrences, which uneducated and superstitious primitives gullibly believe.

But you can be sure it happened just as Scripture records, and what it reveals is a common pattern in God’s ways. Sometimes—not always—but sometimes he gives counterintuitive wisdom. And we need to have faith to do what he says even though it defies reason.

The wisdom of the log

For example, James 5:14–15 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

Notice this says not only to pray but to anoint with oil. If we believe in God, we know it is rational to pray to an Almighty God to heal; but it defies human, medical logic to anoint the sick person with oil. If a person has a heart problem, what curative power does olive oil smeared to the forehead have? Nevertheless, it is God’s wisdom, his counterintuitive wisdom.

The hidden log

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” The power of the log to sweeten the waters was a great and hidden thing. For every human problem, need, or crisis, there is a log, a solution from God. There is great and hidden wisdom only God can reveal, and it might be counterintuitive. If you cry out to him, he can reveal it, in his time, in his way, if it accords with his will. If you have the childlike trust to do what he says, the waters will become sweet, in his time, in his way, if it accords with his will.

Pray for Wisdom to Solve Problems

The New Testament also assures us God is willing to give logs to those who stand weeping at the shores of bitter waters. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Let’s take this verse apart.

“any of you”

Anyone can ask God for wisdom. You do not have to be someone special to inquire of God. You can be a babe in Christ, a holy person, or someone who is struggling to overcome sin.

“lacks wisdom”

God gives wisdom to those who know they do not know how to do something. They feel the lack. They sense their limits. And they might believe the situation is impossible. If you are at the end of yourself, at the end of human problem-solving, brainstorming, and methods, you qualify for the promise of James 1:5.

Remember, there are no problems God cannot solve. “All things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). He “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). There is always a log; the question is, what is God’s will, and do we have enough faith and perseverance?

“let him ask God”

The verb “ask” is in the present tense. Those who keep praying and believing receive wisdom; those who doubt and quit might not.

“who gives generously”

God gives wisdom willingly and abundantly, like a mother dishing out homemade pie. God is not stingy with wisdom. You are not coercing a reluctant God. Rather he delights in pointing you to the log, in his time, in his way, in accord with his will.

“to all”

This repeats the first point for emphasis: anyone can ask for and receive wisdom, not just leaders, prophets, and pastors. Are you in the group labeled “all”? Okay, you qualify. This means you.

“without reproach”

To reproach means to find fault. It is natural for sinful humans, which we all are, to feel that God will not give us something because we have done something wrong, even today. We might assume this is why we have the need (and we might be right). But when we ask for wisdom, God does not find fault with us. Certainly, as always when we pray, we should confess and repent of our known sins. But then we should not let our past sins create doubt in our hearts. Such thinking cripples prayer. God does not fault you for lacking wisdom, and the sins you confess and repent of are under his blood.

“it will be given”

This is a promise. God is absolutely truthful, and therefore you can put your faith in these words. He will do it in his time, in his way, according to his will, if you believe.

I urge you to meditate regularly and prayerfully on each short phrase in James 1:5. Your faith for praying for wisdom will increase.

Takeaway

When we face a need, stubborn problem, or crisis, God wants us to cry out to him and use whatever wisdom he gives no matter how surprising or counterintuitive.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom Patiently

As Jeremiah shows in this story, even seasoned prophets must pray for wisdom patiently.

pray for wisdom patiently

The greatest obstacle to praying successfully for wisdom is a lack of patience. The story we see in this article shows that even great prophets sometimes do not promptly receive the wisdom they seek.

What to do after disaster

The prophet was Jeremiah, one of the greatest in Israel. The circumstance was a request from some of the leaders of the people that he inquire of the Lord for them about what to do in the aftermath of Babylon’s conquest of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 42:1–4 says, “Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, ‘Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us—that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.’

“Jeremiah the prophet said to them, ‘I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.’” (ESV)

A heavyweight

Remember that Jeremiah is God’s right hand man in Israel. When Jeremiah was a youth, God appeared to him to call him into his ministry as a mouthpiece for God. Jeremiah describes that experience: “Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’” (Jeremiah 1:9–10, ESV)

So Jeremiah is not a lightweight, wannabe, or novice at hearing from the Lord. And now as the leaders of Israel inquire of God through him, he has been prophesying accurately to the nation for decades. So he brings their question to the Lord.

Pray for wisdom patiently

After inquiring of God for one day, the answer had not come. After two days, no answer from God. Three days, four days, five, six, seven—no answer. Eight days, nine days, no answer. The man of God—the man who knew how to receive God’s word and wisdom—did not hear anything from God for nine days.

Moreover, God did not tell Jeremiah how long he would have to wait for the answer. He simply had to keep praying and believing the wisdom would come. For all he knew, it could take weeks or months.

But Jeremiah 42:7 says, “At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.”

Is a delay a denial?

Have you ever waited on God for ten days? My guess is that Jeremiah probably did not present his request on day one and then go about his business doing other things until the answer came at the end of day ten. Rather, he probably focused on that for each of ten days, seeking the Lord in prayer. My point is not that asking God for wisdom necessarily demands that, but rather, even doing that did not in this situation result in a quick answer.

You should not feel something is wrong if you pray for several minutes or even hours for wisdom but do not come away with something tangible. Your prayer has planted a seed; do not give up on it. God has heard you. He has his timing and his wise reasons for delay. He had a perfect reason for waiting ten days to answer Jeremiah’s inquiry. While he is patient, we are impatient. While he knows the present and the future, we know next to nothing. He is perfect in all his ways. But whether it takes ten days, ten weeks, ten months, or ten years, the rewards of having wisdom from God Most Wise are too great to quit on the promise of James 1:5.

Therefore when seeking God for wisdom takes much time or requires waiting patiently, do not give up in unbelief and do not forget about it. If the requested wisdom does not come in the time span you expect, that does not mean it will never come or that something is wrong with you.

Life principle

Even God’s choicest prophets have had to wait patiently for him to reveal the wisdom they seek, so do not give up in unbelief if your requests for wisdom take longer than expected to be answered.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom to Interpret and Apply Scripture

Even if you have little experience in studying the Bible, you can pray for wisdom to interpret and apply Scripture.

pray for wisdom to interpret and apply Scripture

When you do not understand something in the Bible, what do you do? Do you google it? Do you read a commentary? Do you make a note to discuss it with someone with more Bible knowledge?

One of the godliest kings in Judah’s history, named Josiah, once faced a situation in which he had an all-important question about the meaning and application of Scripture. Here is what happened.

The lost Bible

During the reign of several wicked kings, the Scriptures were so thoroughly ignored by both political and religious leaders that the sacred scrolls were put into a room somewhere in the temple and forgotten. As a result, although Josiah was a good and godly king who came into power at age 8, he had never seen or heard the Scriptures. Recall that this was a few thousand years before the invention of the printing press.

But then, a few years into his reign, Josiah ordered the repair of the temple. One day the workers discovered the sacred scrolls and showed them to the high priest. Soon he showed them to king Josiah’s secretary, and the secretary brought them to the king and read aloud.

Second Kings 22:11 says, “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.” In that culture, tearing one’s robe was one of the ultimate displays of grief or outrage. The Bible does not tell us where Josiah read in the Bible, but based on his reaction it must have been a section (such as Deuteronomy) where God described the requirements of his covenant with Israel and the punishments that would fall on the nation if they disobeyed.

Well, Israel had failed egregiously. The land was covered with idols. There were idols in the Lord’s very temple. Josiah suddenly knew that a whirlwind of terrible judgment awaited them.

A heap of trouble

He probably had read something like this from Deuteronomy 28:15–29 (ESV):

“But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

“The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.”

What to do?

Now you know why Josiah tore his robe.

This was overwhelming. Josiah now knew that Israel was in major trouble, but he also knew that the judgment had not yet fallen upon them. They were in a time of relative peace, far from the prosperity and power enjoyed under Kings David and Solomon and Hezekiah but not mere hours from destruction either.

So Josiah understood in general how to interpret the meaning of the Scriptures he had now heard, but he needed to know what to do about it, how to apply it to himself and the policies of his kingdom. Was it too late? Was judgment inevitable? Could he do anything to avert disaster?

Crisis management

So after the secretary read the Scripture to Josiah and he tore his robe, Josiah said to his attendants,

“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (2 Kings 22:13)

Josiah’s first instinct was good. He knew he needed to inquire of the Lord for wisdom. He knew God could tell them what to do.

But this was hundreds of years before Jesus, before the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all believers, and thus before all believers received the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and the anointing that teaches believers all things (1 John 2:27). This was hundreds of years before God promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

As a result, Josiah did not believe that God would directly tell him what to do, even though he was king.

Ask the prophet

So Josiah’s attendants found a prophetess named Huldah to inquire of her what the Lord would say. This was common practice during this era. Kings and others inquired of the Lord by inquiring of prophets and priests, who were God’s anointed, authoritative spokespersons, in whose mouths was the word of the Lord.

The essence of the message from the prophetess was, it is too late to save the nation from judgment, but because King Josiah has done what is right he will not see it himself. (see 2 Kings 22:14–20)

Pray for wisdom to interpret and apply Scripture

Don’t you wish you had a prophetess like Huldah at your side when you puzzle over something in the Bible?

As nice as that would be, we should not approach our Bible questions like Josiah. Understanding and applying the Word of God does require supernatural wisdom and insight, but he is willing to help you. When you scratch your head over a verse in the Bible, you should not assume its meaning and application will always remain behind a curtain. Rather, you should pray for wisdom to interpret and apply that Scripture, receive it by faith, and then pursue the answer diligently, patiently, and persistently.

It may be that you will find the answer yourself through study and meditation. It may be that God will lead you to the teaching of someone with far more experience and knowledge in Scripture than you. But it all begins with inquiring of the Lord and believing he is your instructor (Matthew 23:10), who sometimes teaches you directly and sometimes indirectly through others.

This is a prayer based on God’s Word

God shows us in Scripture that we can pray in this way.

Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”

Psalm 119:34 says, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

Verse 73 is the prayer for understanding the meaning of Scripture, and verse 34 highlights application.

What I do with my toughest questions

This is the practice I have followed in writing this blog weekly over the last four years. I have faced many questions that at first I felt I would not be able to answer, especially as I wrote about the holiness of God. But I have learned not to assume I will never find the answer. When puzzled, I have learned to inquire of the Lord, and I have seen again and again he is willing to teach me to understand and apply his Word sooner or later.

Here is one example of an article I wrote on a question I had puzzled over for decades without inquiring of the Lord, but then when I began inquiring of the Lord about it, he opened the curtain in a few months.

Currently in my “Inquiring of the Lord” file, I have several more theological questions. For example, one of my prayers is, “Lord, help me better understand the harmony of your wrath and love. Do you ever feel anger toward a true Christian?” I have leanings on this, but not yet clarity. I know the Lord will eventually answer questions like these.

When I come to a roadblock in understanding the Bible, I should not assume I will never be able to plumb the depths of the subject. And I do not need to respond as Josiah did, asking a fellow human to inquire of the Lord for me. I can and should inquire of him myself. Then, if he wants to send Huldah to help me, I am all for it. But if he wants to open my mind to understand this on my own, all the better.

Conclusion

You will be surprised how much God is willing to teach you in the Bible if you will ask him for wisdom each time you have a question, write that question down in a spiritual journal, and then keep that question simmering on the front or back burner for as long as necessary.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom about Why

God sometimes reveals his most important guidance when we pray for wisdom about why our circumstances are as they are.

pray for wisdom about why

Have you ever wanted to ask God why? Isaac’s wife did, and God answered.

Genesis 25:21–26 says:

“ 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, ‘If it is thus, why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD.

“ 23 And the LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.’

“ 24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”

Here are four takeaways from this story about inquiring of God.

1. We can inquire of God when we are troubled

Rebekah was deeply troubled by what was happening to her. For two decades she had suffered the sorrow and frustration of barrenness. Then she celebrated the conception of a child. Now, however, she experiences jostling within her womb that she does not understand and cannot control and that is probably painful. Perhaps she did not yet know she had twins within, and so the jostling was both mysterious and worrisome.

2. We can ask God why

“She said, ‘If it is thus, why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD.” (v. 22)

You can ask God your questions, even your why questions. Some people mistakenly suppose we should never ask God why because that is not our place. Others err by expecting God to explain everything, which he certainly will not do because the Christian life requires trust and because he is God and we are not.

Therefore God might answer a why question, but he might not. I do not think this falls within the promise of James 1:5, which says God gives wisdom when we ask. But if we need to know the purpose in a situation and God wants us to know so we will believe his promise, we can expect that he will reveal it.

3. We should inquire in a conducive place

Verse 22 says, “she went to inquire of the Lord.” Where did she go? They did not have a temple; perhaps they had an altar or a place of daily prayer. She might have experienced God’s presence there before. In any event, she went to a conducive setting where she could be alone for an extended time and pay attention to God without distraction.

You might go to a church that has a prayer room or allows people to pray in the worship area. Or you could go to a retreat center dedicated to people who come to pray for a day or more.

4. Inquiring of God may lead to the most important revelations in our lives

God answered Rebekah with a prophetic revelation of the future, unveiling the destiny for her and her children and even for nations: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (v. 23)

Of course, insights of that magnitude do not happen every time one inquires of the Lord, and not everyone gives birth to children in the promised line leading to the nation of Israel and the Messiah himself! So we should have expectations that are neither too high nor too low.

But we can always inquire of the Lord with confident hope, for Scripture and Christian biographies alike show the Father often reveals his most important guidance and promises as his children inquire of him in times of trouble.

He will usually do that through his written Word. So when you inquire of the Lord, read the Bible much and ask him to guide that reading. He will lead you to Scriptures that are linchpins for a season or even for your entire life.

Conclusion

It might suit God’s purpose to reveal the reason for your circumstances, if you inquire of him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom Every Time

We should pray for wisdom every time because what we need even more than wisdom is to have God working with us.

pray for wisdom every time

In the Old Testament, when you prayed for wisdom, you were “inquiring of the Lord.” Here is an inspiring example of King David inquiring of the Lord that shows what praying for wisdom can do for us:

“17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 And David inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?’ And the LORD said to David, ‘Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.’ 20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, ‘The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.’ Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

“22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, ‘You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.’ 25 And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.” (2 Samuel 5:17–25, ESV)

Four, relevant principles.

We can learn four things from this story about inquiring of God today.

1. Praying for wisdom and following God’s instructions every time he went into battle enabled David to succeed.

God knows everything about us, both strengths and weaknesses, and the challenge we face. He knows past, present, and future. And he knows precisely what will work. He knows how situations remain the same, and he knows how they differ.

2. We should not assume the wisdom we received from God for one situation is necessarily the wisdom we should use for the next situation.

David faced the same enemy in the same place, but God gave him different strategies for the two battles. In the first battle, God said, “Go up.” In the second, he said, “You shall not go up.” We should honor God by asking him for wisdom for each new challenge or task. In this way we put our trust in the Lord rather than in our method.

3. God may sometimes give wisdom in detailed instructions, and sometimes not.

In the first battle, God said only, “‘Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” But in the second battle, God instructed David regarding when, where, and how: “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”

4. The wisdom God gave David worked because God worked with him.

For the first battle, God promised, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.’ God was the primary actor in the battle. He gave the Philistines to David and his troops. If he had not done that, David would not have won.

For the second battle, God said, “When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” When God gives wisdom, God works. He backs up his ideas.

God wants to fight and work with us. He does not want us to ignore him. He does not want us to presume he will help us. And he does not want us to act as though we know what we are doing, that we can handle this without his help. Inquiring of God for wisdom is an act of dependence and submission. We should pray for wisdom every time because what we need even more than wisdom is to have God working with us.

How God communicates

But how does God communicate his wisdom? David presented his question to God, and verse 19 says, “The LORD said to David.” God’s exact words are quoted in detail. That is what most people would love to experience, but it does not seem to work that way for most Christians. It does not work that way for me even though I believe God still works today as he did in the New Testament. God does not talk to me in an audible voice giving precise instructions, and he does not do that for any pastors I know. That does not mean it never happens to anyone, but if it does it is rare, even for genuine servants of God.

The wisdom I am writing about in this series of articles is the wisdom we can pray for daily, for things large and small, for everything we put our hand to. Although God sometimes spoke to David audibly, sometimes through prophets and priests, he was a singular prophet and king in the Old Covenant. Today in the New Covenant, how does God communicate his wisdom to the average Christian who regularly inquires of him?

New Testament promises

Two New Testament promises assure us we can still ask God for wisdom just as David did. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” If only that promise was followed by a specific description about how God will communicate that wisdom to us! But that is not the case. Similarly with the promise of Jesus: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). He does not tell us how we will find or how the door will be opened.

So there must be a reason God typically does not speak to us audibly and does not tell us in detail how we will receive the promised wisdom. He just says it will happen! He must want us to learn by experience.

Equipped

And he has equipped us to do so. In the New Covenant era, we have both the Old and New Testaments, which are his inerrant, written Word. And we have the Holy Spirit living within us, in union with our human spirit, giving us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), teaching us all things (1 John 2:27).

If we are patient, wise, prayerful, and teachable, and if we are submitted to wise, experienced, godly mentors, we will gradually learn to recognize the wisdom he promised. Most likely God will not communicate with us in just one way, but several. And because we have the Holy Spirit within, God’s wisdom will come to us internally in our thought processes. The subjectivity of that is what can make getting wisdom from God difficult sometimes, but it seems that is what he wants for us. We need to submit to his method, for he is working for good through it. He knows what he is doing, and what he is doing is larger than giving the wisdom we desire.

Recommendations

Therefore I recommend you regularly ask God to give you wisdom about how to pray for wisdom successfully.

I also recommend that, since receiving God’s wisdom is usually not as unmistakable as hearing a voice from a cloud, and since God wants us to learn by experience, you should make praying for wisdom for everything that matters to you a regular practice. Then when you face major needs, you will know how to do it confidently.

As you do that, you will know God and his ways better and better. You will be walking with God.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom from the Revealer of Mysteries

No challenge is too great, no question too difficult, when you pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries.

pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries

Sometimes we will ask God to give wisdom for impossibly difficult things. Think for example of a medical researcher who seeks a cure for cancer or a mother who is raising an autistic child or a small business owner whose company is in debt for hundreds of thousands of dollars and hampered by an economy dealing with COVID.

One government official in the Bible faced an impossible situation. Daniel was one of the wise men of Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had a dream that disturbed him so much he felt he had to be absolutely sure of its interpretation.

No doubt he had told many of his dreams to the wise men before, and they had offered various interpretations, most of which struck him in the end as guesswork. So for this extraordinary dream, he decided on a test that would reveal the level of inspiration in the interpreter. He would require the interpreter of dreams to tell him both the dream itself and the interpretation.

Nebuchadnezzar called in the wise men and gave them the ground rules. Then he added some motivation: “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins” (Daniel 2:5).

That is how a king gets things done. What a motivational speaker!

Pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries

Daniel and three of his Jewish friends were part of that group of advisors, under the threat of an imminent, grisly death, but they unlike the others were true men of God. They sought him for mercy, and that night Daniel had a vision that gave him all the required information. Then Daniel blessed the Lord, and his words are important for you and all who seek wisdom for impossible situations:

“20 Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” (Daniel 2:20–23)

Notice six truths from this passage that will give you faith to pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries.

1. Wisdom and might belong to God.

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might” (v. 20). Wisdom and might belong to God; that is, they are inherent to him; they are who he is in himself. He did not receive them from someone else. He did not have to learn them. Infinite wisdom and infinite might simply belong to him. There is no limit to them, and so there is nothing impossible with him.

Wisdom and might go together, for wisdom gives might. God’s infinite wisdom gives him the ability to do unimaginably difficult things, such as creating the universe and every form of life on earth from nothing. No problem we can face on earth approaches the difficulty of that divine accomplishment.

So he knows how to cure cancer. He knows how to raise an autistic child or turn a failing business around. He knows how to fix a car no other mechanic can fix. Such situations may seem impossible to us, but for the God of all wisdom and might, they are as simple as one plus one equals two.

2. He can give us wisdom for impossible challenges because he also has unlimited power over those situations.

Verse 21 says, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” These two powerful divine actions noted by Daniel were not random. They both pertain to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. God was revealing to the king how he would work in the future to change kings, kingdoms, and governments, raising them up for a season and then removing them from the world scene. The dream revealed God as the sovereign Lord of history past, present, and future.

So when God gives you wisdom about an impossible thing, he is not at the mercy of someone else’s control, such that the wisdom might not work because someone else more powerful than he is might do something unforeseen. When you pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries, you are praying to a God bigger and more powerful than you can comprehend—a sovereign God.

3. He is often willing to share his wisdom and knowledge with us.

Verse 21 says, “He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

He gives it, and in fact he is the source of all wisdom and knowledge. No one has come to understand how to do anything or solve any problem apart from God. People do their part to think, study, research, and so on, but ultimately they are cooperating with God, and without him they would know nothing.

God delights to give the world wisdom, but he also chooses to maintain many mysteries at least until an appointed time.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”

Because God keeps secrets, humanity has not yet found the cure for cancer. But that does not mean we will never find the cure. We may wrongly assume that present mysteries are permanent mysteries, that God cannot or will not reveal the answer to them.

But God has revealed the cure for many diseases and will reveal many more, in his time, in his way, according to his will. For many impossible situations, the wisdom we seek is like diamonds buried in the earth, just waiting for someone to dig. For other situations, God may never reveal his secrets, for reasons of course that are always perfect and good.

However, as Daniel experienced on that dangerous night in a divine vision, God is often willing to share his wisdom and knowledge with us for solving great mysteries, and we should pray, believe, and assume he wants to do this for whatever inquiry we bring to him, for it is his nature—his pleasure—to give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

4. God reveals the deepest of deep things.

“He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” (v. 22)

Daniel knew that what he had just experienced was extraordinarily extraordinary. It was like going down, down, down into a cave without a torch or any source of light. He had gone where it was humanly impossible to go. He had been in pitch darkness, unable to see or know anything, and suddenly God had turned on his light.

He learned firsthand that God “reveals deep and hidden things.” Deep. Hidden. He reveals things that a brilliant person with an IQ of 250 and a thousand PhD degrees could not know.

So do not be daunted by the size of your challenge. God knows everything that to you is now in pitch darkness. The light that enables him to penetrate such darkness dwells with him. He created the blazing sun and carries it into whatever dark mystery he wants to enter.

5. When God gives you his wisdom, he gives you his might.

“You have given me wisdom and might” (v. 23).

In verse 20, Daniel praised God for his wisdom and might, and now he says that God had given him wisdom and might. Though we are utterly powerless in our human selves, the wisdom that comes from God makes us powerful for God’s purposes and glory. When Daniel went into mighty King Nebuchadnezzar’s throne room and unveiled the mystery, the mightiest man in the room was not the king—it was Daniel.

And the king knew it. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel” (2:46).

6. To God be the glory.

Daniel 2:46 also says Nebuchadnezzar “commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him [Daniel].” The overwhelmed king treated him like a god. When God gives you extraordinary wisdom, some people will want to give you credit, and your flesh will want to join in that falsehood.

But when God revealed the mystery to Daniel in the vision of the night, Daniel prayed, “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise” (v. 23). Although wisdom gives might, we must be careful not to seek it for our own glory and power, similar to how Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with a wrong motivation. Daniel sought and gave the glory to God alone, and the entire Book of Daniel never speaks of his falling into the sin of pride.

When you pray for wisdom from the revealer of mysteries, be careful to maintain a pure heart of humility, for God opposes the proud and self-ambitious but gives grace to the humble.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom from the Creator of Your Mind

When you understand that you pray for wisdom from the Creator of your mind, your faith increases.

pray for wisdom from the creator of your mind

The large and exciting subject of this post is God’s power over the human mind. It will increase your faith and enlarge your boundaries as you pray for wisdom. Let’s begin with Solomon, of whom 1 Kings 4:29–34 says:

“God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.” (ESV)

Solomon became a human encyclopedia, a breathing Google search, a one-man TED Talk, with “breadth of mind” before there were encyclopedias, and he came into this vast wisdom through personal inquiry, as Ecclesiastes reveals. But fundamentally he came into this wisdom because God first gave him the ability to perceive and accumulate, to organize and understand, wisdom.

Verse 29 says it with delightful simplicity: “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding.” Similarly 1 Kings 10:24 says, “The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.”

Pray for wisdom from the Creator of your mind

God can put wisdom into your mind any time he wants because he created and sustains your mind. He perfectly understands the mystery of human consciousness, for he created it. He understands the division of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12), the interplay of material and immaterial that occurs between the cells of the human brain and the human spirit, for he is sovereign over it. God understands the miracle of how one human soul integrates emotions, will, memory, imagination, motivation, insight, perception.

But as usual, the Bible describes this miracle in a simple way: “God put wisdom into his mind.”

The mind of every creature

God does not do that for every creature. The Bible says some startling things about God’s sovereignty over even the minds of animals and insects.

Consider the mind of an ostrich. Job 39:13–17 says, “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.”

Why do ostriches deal foolishly with their eggs and young? “Because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.” God rules over the mind of an ostrich. For whatever wise reason and for the display of his glory, God chose not to give this bird wisdom about taking care of her eggs.

On the other hand, the Bible says even a creature as small as an ant can have wisdom. “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6).

Not only ants, but other small creatures have wisdom commended by God himself: “Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.” (Proverbs 30:24–28).

Where did these small creatures get their wisdom? From their Creator and Sustainer, of course, “from whom and through whom and to whom are all things” (Romans 11:36).

God controls the minds of trillions of bugs! God ultimately, not DNA or any material  source, puts specific wisdom about storing food, choosing a home, and marching in ranks into trillions of ants, rock badgers, locusts, and lizards if for no other reason than because he wanted to use them as an example in his eternal written Word.

The mind of rulers

If he can control the minds of birds and bugs, he can do the same with humans.

For instance, God once turned a man’s human mind into the mind of an animal. God pronounced a temporary judgment on proud King Nebuchadnezzar of mighty Babylon:

 “Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him.” (Daniel 4:15–16)

And so it happened. Yet at the end of God’s determined time of judgment, Nebuchadnezzar suddenly regained his wits. He himself described the experience this way: “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:34)

As unexplainable as it was when his human reason left him, so was its return. God Almighty rules over human reason and wisdom.

The ground of your mind

This means that when you pray for God to give you wisdom, you are not asking him to do some extraordinary thing that rarely if ever happens. He has been doing this your whole life. That you have a sound mind at all, that you have the ability to reason, is an ongoing gift of God’s grace. You have the ability to read and understand this article because God is personally, deliberately, at this very moment, sustaining your mind.

When God declared his glory to Job, he asked the rhetorical question, “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?” (Job 38:36)

Proverbs 2:6 says, “The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

David wrote, “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart” (Psalms 51:6).

The Bible teaches that wisdom is something God can release within, without external inputs if he chooses. God is able to shine the light of understanding within the human spirit. “Wisdom will enter your heart” (Proverbs 2:10, NIV).

The wisdom of craftsmen

Let’s look at one last inspiring example. When God formed the nation of Israel by delivering them from bondage in Egypt, he intended to live among them in a special tent called the Tabernacle. It would contain many articles of worship, such as a bronze altar of sacrifice, golden tables for burning incense and offering bread, basins for washing, a golden candlestick, the Ark of the Covenant. The priests who officiated in the Tabernacle were to wear elaborate, holy uniforms.

To craft this enormous number of religious articles, did God tell Moses to conduct a talent search to find the most skilled craftsmen in the camp? No, God specifically prepared two men to lead the project, along with a team of other craftsmen to assist them:

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you” (Exodus 31:1–6)

Exodus 36:1–2 says, “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.”

Pray for wisdom from the Creator of your mind for everything that matters to you

Therefore, whether it is wisdom to create a Tabernacle in the desert, to raise a family, to have a peaceful and satisfying relationship with your spouse, colleagues, or friends, to succeed in your career, to manage your finances, or whatever it is that matters to you, the God of all wisdom can give it to you. He is the Creator and Sustainer of your mind. He is able to fulfill the promise of James 1:5 in you: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

And most importantly, as he does this in you, you will come to know him and his ways better. For this is one of God’s ways: he gives wisdom to those who ask him.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

Posted on

Pray for Wisdom and Think Diligently

God’s wisdom comes to those who pray for it and think diligently.

think diligently

We learn another important principle about praying for wisdom from the coaching that the apostle Paul gave to his protégé Timothy. In his second letter to Timothy, who is serving as pastor of the church in Ephesus, Paul wants Timothy to learn further wisdom about how to succeed in his work for the Lord.

Think

Paul begins by giving in rapid succession three brief analogies:

“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

“It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” (2 Timothy 2:4, 5, 6)

Paul does not explain the meaning of the analogies. Rather, in verse 7 he says, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

Think diligently

Notice that Paul is confident and full of faith that the Lord will give Timothy understanding—wisdom. But it will not come without work, without the hard work of thinking. “Think over what I say.” He requires that Timothy think diligently over these three analogies until they yield their wisdom.

We might call that process meditation or reflection, reasoning or analysis. Timothy might write as he thinks. He might share the fruit of his mental exercise with others as he works through it. But one thing is clear: this is not passive, but active. His mind is not in neutral. He is not waiting for God to drop a thought into his mind. Rather, he is asking questions of these analogies, visualizing them, attempting to distill from them the principles and application Paul intends.

And what Paul is confident of, probably because he is also praying that God will reveal to Timothy the understanding he needs, is that as Timothy thinks, wisdom will enter his heart (Proverbs 2:10). Timothy will probably not even recognize that God is the one causing the light bulb to come on; it will seem as though he suddenly came to understand it on his own; nevertheless God will be the one who enables Timothy’s mental work to yield the fruit of understanding.

This is one more example of the principle of human cooperation with God. An airplane has two wings; which wing enables it to fly?

When supernatural thoughts come naturally

There is another remarkable Scripture about God himself supernaturally giving wisdom to a person in a way that seems utterly natural. The subject of the passage in Isaiah is good farmers and how they get their skill. Like me, you are probably not a farmer, and so you will not readily grasp each of the points Isaiah makes about the practical rules of good farming, but that is not the point. Rather, notice to whom the prophet Isaiah gives credit for this farmer’s good understanding:

“Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” (Isaiah 28:24–29)

What I find remarkable about this is the exalted credit Isaiah gives God for what seem like mundane principles of successful farming, principles that this wise farmer may have heard from his father when he was a boy, or principles that he learned from trial and error over several years. These were not things he heard from an angel, a dream, or vision. That is, these were not things he learned in ways that seemed like divine interventions.

Yet, according to Isaiah, the farmer “is rightly instructed; his God teaches him….This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” The farmer is active, and God is active. The farmer thought about his farming, and wisdom entered his heart (Proverbs 2:10).

Trial and error. Learning from mistakes. Learning from success. Observing cause and effect. Having a teachable heart. Intentionally pursuing and writing down best practices. Remembering the advice of one’s elders. Thinking, reflection, meditation. When these things are mixed with prayer, faith, patience, and God’s promises, lo and behold—wisdom.

Think diligently with paper or pixels

Related to all the above, I have one practical suggestion. Keep a journal, digital or hard copy. Writing is just recording your thinking. Have a section for each subject or question. Write your questions and answers and everything in between. The more you write, the more you will understand. Writing helps you think far better, far wider, far deeper.

You might write in complete sentences or in bullet points. You might scatter words and phrases around on a page in a thought cloud or link them with lines in a thought tree. Do what works for you, but record your thoughts no matter how simple they seem, because there is something about writing thoughts that causes more thoughts to come. Writing turns an occasional drop of rain into a shower, and sometimes a lightning storm.

Now and then go back and read what you have written, organize the helpful thoughts, and develop conclusions. Thinking is an adventure into the unknown. It is messy and fun and satisfying. It is unpredictable.

And it takes work. “I [wisdom] love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me” (Proverbs 8:17).

Paul was right, and this is the word of the Lord: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7).

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)