Ask for Wisdom

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

Wisdom is defined as “the capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct.” Wisdom is the application of knowledge. 

When someone goes to college to learn about things, they go to someone who knows more than they do. They go to a professor or teacher, to learn something new. It is through learning that someone understands how to do something, and when they apply it to their life-that is wisdom.

In the book of Chronicles, God asked Solomon what He should give him. Solomon could have asked to live a long life, to be rich, or for the life of his enemies, but what did he ask for? He asked for wisdom. He valued to have wisdom to rule over the people of Israel over anything else, and he received it.

“And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:” 2 Chronicles 1:11

When we need to learn about the things of God, where do we go? We go to the scriptures. We have several books in the Bible written by different men of God, each teaching us how to live in a just and holy way for Jesus. Paul may have taught a little bit different than Peter did, but they all taught the same thing-how Jesus died for us and how we need to live for Him and how to treat others. The apostles used their knowledge and wisdom and they passed it down to us through their writings.

The Bible teaches us that the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. How is knowing the table of elements and all their numbers going to benefit you in Heaven? How is knowing trigonometry or other advanced math going to help you in Heaven? 

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” 1 Corinthians 3:19

If we do not understand parts of the scripture, we can ask God to give us knowledge and understanding. A child does not always understand a math problem the first time. They may have trouble understanding how math works, but when they ask for help, the teacher will come over and explain to them how to do it, so that they learn and can do it on their own. Years later, when they are at a grocery store, and they need to figure out how much money’s worth of food they have in their basket, they will apply what they learned as a young child in math class, and be able to calculate how much everything costs. They take the knowledge that they have learned and they applied it to something in their life. That is wisdom.

When we read and learn what has been left for us in the Bible, we might not always understand certain parts of it right away, but if we ask the Lord for understanding, He will reveal it to us, and we will understand what it is that He asks of us.

“For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

We have all that we need to know about how to please God. We have the words of His Son Jesus, and the words of His apostles to guide us through the short time that we are here on the earth. It is up to us to take that knowlege and apply it to our lives. We need to seek the Word of God daily, and increase in wisdom and understanding.

“So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;” Proverbs 2:2

The wisdom of God is so incredible, just go out and ask Him to give you some!

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33

In Christ,

Andrew