Tuesday, June 26, 2012

How To Become Wise, James 1:5

How do you find wisdom?  Do you adopt a philosophy, study the teaching of a great man, or practice some mysterious discipline?   The Bible suggests the answer from James 1:5 that getting wisdom is not a matter of finding or learning but of asking.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously and without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NIV.

This verse is so straightforward that it barely needs any comment, but it is deep.  There is an idea that God will give wisdom to those who ask.  This reveals that wisdom can't be bought, earned, or learned, but it can be given, and God is willing to give it to those who ask him.

Diploma And Miterboard
There are many promises in the Scripture. Some have conditions that must be fulfilled for the promise to be received.  Here we have an unconditional promise that if we ask, we will receive wisdom.  It is that simple and that is why so few find it.

WHAT WE MUST DO:

We can ask Him for wisdom with confidence. You don't just pray for wisdom and hope for the best, but you can be assured that if you pray for wisdom, The Lord will give it to you.  God does not find fault in the prayer for wisdom; it is always right to do and never wrong.

WHAT GOD DOES:

God is generous, and we are daily recipients of his generosity.  No one could earn His favor, so He grants His gifts freely.  Our Heavenly Father is not only generous in the fact that He gives at all, but He is generous in the vast measure of the gifts He gives.  He will not just give us a little like a sample taste; he overwhelms us with an abundant exceedingly great amount of his favor.

WHO MAY BECOME WISE:

This promise is for anyone. It begins with "If any of you." It is not addressed to the kings, the powerful and learned of this world, but "Any." The All-wise, All-knowing, and All-Powerful One will give his gift of wisdom as an endowment to anyone humble enough to ask. He gives it without respect of status or class; even a janitor, a cab driver, or waitress may receive this awesome gift.

PRAYER:

We wonder if we are praying correctly; we get tangled up with rules and forms in prayer.  We know we must pray according to His plans, and if we ask for something against God's revealed, we won't get our answer, but here we see it is his desire and will to give us wisdom.  It is a prayer we can pray with confidence, knowing that it is going to be granted.

(c)Adron Dozat 6/26/12