Last time, I began with an attempt to begin to answer the question, What are we really asking for when we pray for wisdom? We looked at definitions of wisdom, the source of wisdom, and the outcomes of wisdom.
This time, we will look at some examples of praying for wisdom as well as a command to pray for wisdom when we need it.
Examples of Prayers for Wisdom
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
We cannot talk about wisdom and praying for wisdom without mentioning Solomon. Solomon had just inherited the throne of the kingdom of Israel from his father, David, when God appeared to him in the night and told Solomon to ask what God should give him. Solomon asked for wisdom:
“You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place. O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chronicles 1:8-10, ESV).
Solomon asked God to give him the wisdom to fulfill the task God had given him to govern God’s people. God answered his prayer and gave him not only wisdom to rule well, but also a great capacity for knowledge and understanding in many areas of life, including literature, music, and biology:
“And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men. . . and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees . . . of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings 4:29-34, ESV).
First Kings 10 tells of the Queen of Sheba’s breathless reaction to the wisdom she noted in Solomon’s house he built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, their clothing, etc. He was wiser than any other king or wise man. And this wisdom was put into his mind by God.
“Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind” (1 Kings 10:23-24, ESV).
It seems that God gave Solomon a great amount of wisdom about practical things in life, things that would help him rule well and cause him to be esteemed by surrounding nations. And God used his great wisdom to bless and flourish the kingdom of Israel. But Solomon in his old age deviated from true wisdom when he disobeyed and turned from the Lord. Along with his increase in wisdom, he accumulated wealth, a great number of horses and chariots (forbidden by God for Israel’s kings in Deuteronomy 17), and many foreign women who turned his heart away from the Lord (cf. 1 Kings 11).
In Solomon, we see an example of God answering a prayer to give wisdom. God seemed to give an extraordinary amount of wisdom and capacity for knowledge to Solomon in order to help him fulfill his God-given role. But we can also learn from his example that simple knowledge and “wisdom of the world” is not enough. If these things are not tied to obedience and faithfulness, they prove themselves to be empty (Solomon himself noted this in his old age when he wrote Ecclesiastes; cf. Eccl 1:12-18.). In the end, Solomon summarized what true wisdom really looked like:
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, ESV).
Paul’s Prayers for Wisdom for Believers
Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have wisdom in the knowledge of Christ:
“Remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:16-20, ESV).
We noted this passage last time when we looked at the source of wisdom being the knowledge of Christ. In knowing Christ, we have the Spirit of wisdom. Note what Paul prays would be the results of this wisdom. When believers have wisdom from God they live life knowing:
- The hope to which God calls us
- The riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints
- The immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward us
So, we could say that, as we grow in our knowledge of Christ, we grow in wisdom, which results in living hopeful, God-empowered lives with an eternal focus.
Paul also prayed for the Colossians to be filled with wisdom:
“We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:9-12, ESV).
Again, we see a connection between knowledge and wisdom. Paul also emphasizes here what it looks like to have wisdom—to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This walk:
- Fully pleases the Lord
- Bears fruit in every good work
- Increases in the knowledge of God
- Is strengthened by God’s power to endure with patience and joy
- Gives thanks to the Father for his saving work
In reality, according to what we have seen in Scripture, we have full access to wisdom already. We don’t need to search our hearts for it. We certainly don’t need to search the internet either. We need to search the Scriptures, know Christ, and know what pleases him through what he has told us in the Word. As we have this solid foundation, we can make decisions (those decisions that we say we need wisdom to decide) with the wisdom we already have access to.
Now, what about when we are still faltering, still wavering, still unsure? Well, God graciously speaks to us in this condition and tells us what to do.
A Command to Ask God for Wisdom
James wrote a letter to the believing Jewish people who had been dispersed due to persecution. He told them what mindset they were to have as they encountered all sorts of trials:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:1-4, ESV, emphasis added).
Because the intended result of trials is the testing of our faith that produces steadfastness, we should consider trials to be a thing of joy. This joy is not joy for the hardship but for its outcome, the full effect: our perfection, completion, our lacking in nothing.
Of course, this perfection and completion will not happen for some time; in fact, it will not happen completely until we are glorified in heaven (so keep expecting trials until you die!). Since our perfection has not yet come, we will also probably still lack something. And James speaks to this lack as well:
“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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8, ESV, emphasis added).
So James just said that trials produce steadfastness, with the goal that we should be perfect, complete, and lack nothing. And that should bring us joy. Have you ever failed to be steadfast in a trial? Have you ever complained instead of rejoiced in what God is doing through a trial? Have you ever failed to live out the wisdom of living with an eternal mindset with patience, joy, and endurance when undergoing hardship? I have!
Well, James speaks to us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God.” Now we know that we have the riches of wisdom in Christ through the knowledge of his word. We know that we should be lacking in nothing. God certainly knows this too. When we ask him for the wisdom that we should not be lacking in (but we are), maybe we expect God to reproach us. Kind of like what an adult may say to a child: Well, you should know better than to ask for that, but I guess I will give it to you.
But not God. He gives to all without reproach. And he doesn’t give sparingly; he gives generously! He knows our fragility.
“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14, ESV).
If we are going to ask God for wisdom though, James does give a few qualifiers. We should ask in faith. We must truly believe God. We must ask without doubting. The doubting one is someone who is divided—someone who asks God for wisdom, but really wants something else. Perhaps this person is still clinging to his own wisdom or that of the world. If we really want God to give us wisdom, we have to really want it and be willing to take it and live the life that accompanies a wise person.
In a way, this study was more of an encouragement to help us realize that we already have wisdom readily available through the Spirit and through the knowledge of Christ as found in the Word. Yet there are times, especially difficult times during trials, when we lack the maturity we should have to view these times as a joyful means of “steadfastness production.” In these moments, we can confidently ask God for wisdom, knowing he will give it.
___________________________________