(This is part three of my short series on wisdom.)
So if you've read parts 1 and 2, and have moved on to part 3, my guess is that you're seeking and praying for heavenly wisdom to light your path. Let me share a few passages I received today on this topic:
Mat 7:7-11 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The great news is that God is good! If you're asking and seeking good things, good things you will most surely get. If you want to grow in wisdom, He is more than willing and more than able to grant you that request!
See what James has to say on this kind of prayer:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
I think the point of the second verse, apart from pointing to possible incredulity/doubt as to whether God will grant the request or not, is to cause you to think again... Do I really WANT God's wisdom? When God lets me know His will regarding such and such matter, will I trust and obey? Or will I continue leaning on my own understanding? When the Lord guides me, will I follow?
Keep asking! And as the Lord reveals different areas of foolishness, confess and beg Him to remove all iniquity, tear down any strongholds and teach you how to walk closer to Jesus, our prime example of how to live a godly life.
My conclusion, on next entry.
Oh my, I ask for wisdom everyday... each day brings with it a new set of issues I need wisdom for... and if I fail, it's because I didn't listen or obey! Thank God for His Mercy and Grace!
ReplyDeleteYES! We soooo need that Heavenly Wisdom. His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts.
ReplyDeleteUnless we receive IN FAITH that wisdom from above, we will learn a couple of things (head knowledge) and become all puffed up in pride. That is human wisdom (at best!) or even satanic wisdom. The "wisdom" that led Peter to rebuke Jesus about going to the Cross.
I believe when we center our thoughts on the things of above, when we cling to the words of Jesus, and listen to the warnings of the prophets who spoke before Him and the apostles who wrote such amazingly profound letters, and when that "Shmah" is not just a "listening" ear but an ear that is really connected to the mind and heart AND the hands and the feet, you can then discover the true riches of wisdom. When your ear is SO attentive as an athlete's, who is waiting for that shot that says "Go" in order to start RUNNING towards the goal.