James 1:5-“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all the men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Solomon asked God only for this and received God’s wisdom. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is that the former is raw information but the latter knows how to use it. With knowledge we can take things apart, but in wisdom we put things together. For wisdom, we generally first take to books, go to others, classes, events, anything but God. We can live complacently from day to day but especially during our trials we look to God for wisdom, direction, and our next step. Trials instill an urgency and feeling of need. We want to know: how to deal with them, to understand the trials, to decide what to do, to choose what is right, how God would want us to live so that we can overcome it all and not give up the struggle.
Can we receive the wisdom that we need from God? God alone can give this wisdom to us. The Bible clearly says if any one lacks wisdom, “let them” ask God. God knows everything about us but waits for us to ask. He will answer the prayers of those who ask. But we must believe that God is kind and generous to give wisdom freely and without limit. When we ask, we must do it in faith, without doubt. When we ask God for wisdom, God will not turn away our request. He is never angry with us for our lack of wisdom. Instead, we can be assured that we will get His generous portion (which far outweighs our measures) according to His greatness and without blame. Also, we should never be afraid to go to God to ask too much or too often because He is always ready to add new blessings to former ones, without any limit. Remember, God is One of open hand, not of clenched fist. He never despises or resents us for asking for wisdom.
After we ask God for something we must take our first step of action in faith to see God’s glory manifest. Also, we must obey what God tells us to do. True wisdom is always consistent with God’s word. If we ask for wisdom in faith, we are sure to get it. We must be firm and constant in our trust in God, and not doubt that He is able to do it. If we lack faith or trust in God, we have no foundation and will be unstable in all our ways. God does not answer the prayers of those who doubt. James says doubters are like the waves that the changing wind blows about. We cannot think in two ways simultaneously when we pray: either we believe with no doubt or we do not. We cannot serve God and someone else at the same time. Who do you believe for wisdom today?
