Ask God for wisdom

Do you realise that you can ask God for what you don’t have? 

It might be that you’re short of cash, that you are struggling academically, suffering physically, lack patience, peace or understanding. For any of these things, and many more, you can ask God to provide. When we have lack, we seek to gain more, and asking our loving Father in heaven to provide is a natural thing to do if you believe there is a God. 

There is one thing that we all lack, but I wonder if you ever ask God for it, and that is wisdom.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.*6*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.*7*For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;*8*he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

James 1:5–8.

James encourages us in these verses to earnestly ask God for wisdom. Not to be smart, clever or knowledgeable, but wise. This is because wisdom is not just about knowing and recalling information, but is about having knowledge, experience and good judgement. A wise person understands and is able to apply what they know. They have the ability to understand how to respond to situations and they do it. Wisdom effects behaviour because the wise apply what they know to what they do. Do you think you're wise? Do you ever think to ask God to help you become wiser? 

If you and I had greater wisdom, then surely some of the things we struggle with in life might be a bit easier to manage, or we may even find solutions to them. With increased wisdom some of the things we already ask God to provide like patience and peace would surely follow if we understood and were able to apply that understanding to our lives.

Compared to God, our lack of wisdom is outstanding, He is after all, omniscient (all knowing!) and we are not, yet do you ever ask Him for it? Not just insight for a particular time or situation, but, like Solomon did, do you ask for wisdom so that you can lead life well and do the best with what you have got? 

I think we can be fooled into thinking that as the world is full of information and knowledge, we believe that we already have insight and capability. At no time in the world's existence has there been so much information so readily available, so we can mistakenly believe that knowing stuff is wisdom. However wisdom is not just about knowing things or being able to relay facts and statistics. There's a difference between being clever and wise. Wisdom is applied knowledge, applying understanding to what you do and say. You cannot get that from the internet or even from professors. God is the best one to provide it. He after all, has existed through every age and kept humanity and creation going so He has the applied understanding and knowledge to sustain life and relationships. Do you want some of the wisdom He has? 

God can so easily and readily supply and fulfil any desire for wisdom, yet when you do seek Him for it, consider how you ask, ‘‘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’. When you ask God, do you really believe God can and will do it? There's quite a stark warning here about how you approach God. James is making it very clear that God is not to be doubted. It is ok to acknowledge that you do not deserve what you ask God for, but you cannot doubt God’s goodness, capacity or wisdom. God is a loving, capable and generous father, and He wants you to have wisdom, as well as so many other things therefore you can be confident that He will provide. 

When I ask my earthly Dad something, I expect him to reply, I don’t doubt that he will. He is a good Dad, and wants good things for me. I do not always know how he will respond, what he will do or say, but I do expect to get some kind of response when I speak to him. Therefore, as imperfectly wonderful as earthly Dads can be, can we not expect our Heavenly Father to do the same? 

God may not respond in a way that you can predict or even want, but He loves to hear how He can help you. He likes to hear what you are yearning for and stretching for, and He wants to give you things including wisdom. So, when you approach God and ask, do so confidently. Do not doubt God's capacity, desire or love for you. You may not be confident in yourself, but you can be confident in the One you are asking. So, today, do you desire wisdom? If so, go ahead and ask, and expect to receive.