The Lord Gives Wisdom

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Prov. 2:6).

I have come to understand wisdom, in the biblical sense, to be living a life skilled at pleasing the Lord. I often pray for wisdom. I return frequently to James' admonition, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5). However, I have come to realize that I had been thinking of wisdom as a substance. In reality wisdom is a process. Wisdom isn't something that God plops down on his followers. Wisdom is learned from God as we study his Word. Solomon states, "from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

So the people praying for wisdom, need only to turn their ear to the mouth of the Lord and to listen to what he breaths out. Paul stated, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16). In other words, if we attend to the Word of God we will grow in wisdom. Thus, our prayers for wisdom are answered even as we study the Word.

Friends, if you are waiting for wisdom to drop out of the sky like a rain drop, it isn't going to happen. It doesn't work that way. But, if you press the Word into your heart and mind through prayer, study, meditation, and memorization, you will find yourself a wiser person. Wisdom is not the mere accumulation of knowledge, its the ability to put knowledge to the right use. The pursuit of wisdom must be accompanied by the pursuit of integrity.