Now or Never: Daily Promise 11
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“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
James 1:5 (NIV)
Where do you go when you need wisdom to face life’s trials? The Bible gives us a promise we all need to claim that offers a guaranteed answer. In James 1:5 (NIV), the Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
While knowledge and understanding are important, wisdom offers us the right use of knowledge. Someone once said that knowledge is the ability to take things apart, while wisdom is the ability to put them together. When life is falling apart, we need wisdom to put it back together, wisdom from above.
One definition of wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, from God’s perspective. Another defines wisdom as skillful living. The only way to get that wisdom is to ask God. Unlike knowledge that can be learned, wisdom is given. We receive wisdom from God when we ask in faith, believing that He gives generously to ALL without finding fault! None of us deserve the wisdom of God, yet He offers us His wisdom if we simply ask. And we don’t have to fear that He will scold us or rebuke us for asking. In fact, Proverbs 2:6 (NIV) says, “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
So go ahead and ask. James not only tells us what to ask for but how to ask. In verses 6 through 8, he writes, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Instability and immaturity are two sides of the same coin. Author and Pastor Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Many Christians live like corks on the waves: up one minute, down the next; tossed back and forth. This kind of experience is evidence of immaturity.” Paul used a similar idea in Ephesians 4:14 (NLT) when he wrote, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”
We live in a turbulent world. To navigate life, we need wisdom; the kind God offers if we ask in faith. When we do, He promises to give us the wisdom we need. Why not spend a few moments in prayer now, asking God for the wisdom you need?
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.