How to Ask For Wisdom James 1: 5 7 5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won t correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. Proposition: The best things in life flow from God s guidance but you must ask with a singular focus to do whatever He says. His father had recently died. Dad was greatly loved, a man powerfully used by God. The nation was grieving. His dad was super fit, an athlete and yet loving and very musical. His dad used to write his own songs to God and then play them on a variety of instruments and he even invented instruments that he could play his songs on. His recently deceased Dad was an amazing soldier and incredibly brave and as a young teenager he had defeated a giant in battle. Women used to sing songs about him at the mall. Everybody loved him and now he had died and his son had to try to step up and fill dad s shoes as king of Israel. Young Solomon had a huge job ahead of him. His dad, King David was an all-rounder and loved by the people. We are told in 2 Chronicles 1 that young king Solomon takes a trip 7 miles away from Jerusalem to a place called Gibeon where there was a tabernacle set up to help people meet with God at that time. When Solomon got there he said to God; I need plenty of help. Please help me Lord. That night at Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said to him; Solomon, whatever you ask of me I will give you. Imagine that, God who can speak planets into existence saying to you or I, I will give you whatever you ask of Me. What would you ask for? Most people I think would ask for fame or riches or victory over our enemies and a long life but Solomon asked God for wisdom. God was so pleased that he had asked for wisdom that God said to Solomon, because you have asked me for wisdom and not fame or riches or victories in battle and a long life I will give you wisdom and all the other things as well. God is so pleased when we ask for wisdom and when young Solomon asked for wisdom. Why is that? Turn with me to: Proverbs 8:1-21 Contemporary English Version (CEV) In Praise of Wisdom With great understanding, Wisdom is calling out 2 as she stands at the crossroads and on every hill. 3 She stands by the city gate where everyone enters the city, and she shouts: 4 I am calling out to each one of you! 5 Good sense and sound judgment
can be yours. 6 Listen, because what I say is worthwhile and right. 7 I always speak the truth and refuse to tell a lie. 8 Every word I speak is honest, not one is misleading or deceptive. 9 If you have understanding, you will see that my words are just what you need. 10 Let instruction and knowledge mean more to you than silver or the finest gold. 11 Wisdom is worth much more than precious jewels or anything else you desire. 12 I am Wisdom Common Sense is my closest friend; I possess knowledge and sound judgment. 13 If you respect the LORD, I hate pride and conceit and deceitful lies. 14 I am strong, and I offer sensible advice and sound judgment. 15 By my power kings govern, and rulers make laws that are fair. 16 Every honest leader rules with help from me. 17 I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search. 18 I can make you rich and famous, important and successful. 19 What you receive from me is more valuable than even the finest gold or the purest silver. 20 I always do what is right, 21 and I give great riches to everyone who loves me. Wisdom in this proverb is personified as a woman calling out to each one of us, and says to us that if we search for wisdom and love wisdom we will find a great and prosperous life. If you get wisdom, the other dreams that you have will follow also. James 1:5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous God is generous. He won t withhold guidance from someone who asks Him. Now in Solomon s day if you wanted to know if you should marry that girl or take that job or move to this house you would have to travel to the temple and make an appointment with the High Priest. That was not an easy thing to do. The High Priest wore over his heart the Urim and Thummin. Urim means light and Thummin means perfection. On his chest and over his heart were these 12 gemstones, one for each of the tribes of Israel and when the priest asked God to give you guidance God would respond by lighting up these stones in a variety of orders. You would take the first letter of the name of the tribe the Lord lit up then follow that with the first letter of the next tribe s stone God lit up and so forth until you had a word or two. You can read about the Urim and the Thummin in Exodus 28. A person would ask the High Priest to ask God should I marry Jacob? and through lighting up these stones you would get God s perfect response. I bet those High Priests were pretty hard to get to but we know that the Urim and the Thummin on the breastplate of the high priest was a precursor, a forerunner to the One who was coming who is light and who is perfection i.e. Jesus Christ. In fact Colossians 2 says that in Him, Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. How should I know if I should buy that car or take that job or help this person who has let me down before? Ask Jesus and Jesus will flash His direction through one of three things usually.
1. Through His People Keep in mind that in the Old Testament God spoke through these jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest. He lit up the stones that represented each tribe. In fact, Scripture says that each one of us are jewels in His crown. Now you may look around you today and say, oh a few of these Christians don t look like jewels to me but on the heart of our High Priest, from His perspective they do. God choses to speak through His people. Proverbs 11:14 New King James Version (NKJV) 14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. You might be wondering what to do in regard to your business or that child. Share your situation with a few strong Christians and so often as they talk; boom, you get light for your situation. Be very careful when you share your leading with others to listen to what they say. I have seen good people fall over spiritually when they didn t seek the wisdom of other mature Christians. Jesus will give you direction through His children and most obviously 2. In His Word Psalm 119:105 105 Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk. How often have you been listening to biblical teaching or reading your daily devotional or listening to a bible study and you go Wow, that s it. What we just read gives me perfect light, it illuminates my situation so that I can see where I am going. That word for today could not have been more relevant for my situation. Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk. And so Jesus who is light guides us through His people, in His Word and 3. By Putting Things On Our Hearts In Jeremiah 31 God says that He is going to do a new thing, He is going to write His words not on slabs of stone but on the hearts of believers. I am going to give you personal direction, an impression, a sign in here as to what you should do.
Pauls says a very similar thing in Colossians 3:15 Colossians 3:15 (CEV) 15 Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. NIV The word we translate control or rule here means to umpire your heart. So if you are asking Jesus should I buy that car or should I begin this new ministry; do you have peace about it or not. Let the Peace of God that is in your heart guide you. If you don t have a peace about it don t do it. The peace of God will be like the Urim and Thummin. Now I find that these three things will work together harmoniously; I ask God for direction and wisdom and He gives perfect light through God s people, in the Word and upon my heart. If you ask you will receive BUT there is a condition: James 1:6 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. Well, what does it mean then to ask for something with faith? There is a profound insight on this in Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. The word we translate to mean integrity or honesty means to have an undivided heart and mind. Integrity means you are integrated in your heart. If you come to God and ask: Lord should I marry her, should I not marry her please guide me. That is in fact a divided mind or heart. Someone with integrity or biblical honesty is a person whose mind is not divided because they are coming to God not to ask is it this or is it that. They are coming to God with a singleness of mind saying Lord here is the dilemma but whatever You tell me to do I will do. I am coming to you with an integrated heart, a heart of integrity, whatever it is you want me to do, I will do. That is faith. That is integrity. Not this or that but whatever You want me to do I am determined to obey even if it costs me something or is inconvenient, or even if I don t like the idea. I am coming to You for wisdom saying whatever you tell me to do, I am determined, focused on, doing that.
A person coming to God for wisdom with faith or integrity or a singlemindedness is not coming to God for a suggestion, or an option to consider sometime down the track. A person coming to God for wisdom with faith is saying: Lord my heart and mind are focused on doing whatever You want me to do in this situation. Family, if you need wisdom ask God; come to Him with faith, that is an integrated heart determined to do whatever He wants you to do and He will guide you through the family, through His Word and by giving you personal direction in your heart. Even with those principles in mind some people are still scared of making a move, making a decision. They remain in a place of paralysis because, well, what if, the Christians I ask are dumb, or I misinterpret the Bible or I misread the direction that God puts on my heart. What if I get it all wrong and I head off in the wrong direction? Maybe I had better not do anything at all. There is a really comforting, liberating story of how God responds to a king s integrity even when he makes the wrong decision in Genesis 20. Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, She is my sister. Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman. 4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, She is my sister, and didn t she also say, He is my brother? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands. 6 Then God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Abraham showed no back bone at all in this situation. Telling his wife to lie for him so that she might be taken but that he might live. King Abimelek had no idea that she was Abraham s wife and so he marries her but on their wedding night to this most stunning woman, he is sexually dead. God removed his passions so that he would not sin. God speaks to Abimelek in a dream and he is terrified of what might happen if all the men in the nation become sexually dead. He says; God, I made an honest mistake. I didn t know she was married. Abraham and Sarah lied to my servants. Abimelek acted with integrity. Abimelek married a married woman but because he acted with integrity, he made an honest mistake, God prevented him from sinning with Sarah and protects him and directs him as to where to from here.
Here s the point: If you ask God with integrity, with single mindedness, I am just going to do whatever He tells me to do, God will speak to you through His children, through His word or to you personally and even then if you get it wrong He will protect you and guide you if you acted out of integrity. No one needs to be paralysed by not knowing what to do. Ask God with faith, expect God to give you perfect light and then do what you believe God wants you to do, being confident that if you are wrong but you are acting with integrity God is still going to protect and direct you.