“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.” James 1:5-6
When we ask God for something, sometimes we get a yes, sometimes we get a no and sometimes we get a not yet, because His timing is way better than ours. But one thing you can always count on a yes from God if you ask Him for, is wisdom. But you have to know that He will give it. You don’t doubt Him for this one. He will give you wisdom to walk out your circumstance or situation. He will give you wisdom to understand His word. He will give you wisdom wherever you need it. But you must ask and you will receive.
I remember in my early adult years when I really began to study the Bible. I would read it at times and I had no clue what I had just read. That is also back before you had dozens of translations at your fingertips. I would read and I really had a hard time understanding. Then I found this verse.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” Psalm 19:7
And I truly started praying for God to give me understanding of His word. I am a simple minded woman and I needed His wisdom to decipher and to understand. And His word said He would make wise the simple! I would never be so bold as to say I understand fully. But His word really began to open up to me. And not only did I begin to understand it more, as I understood it more, I fell in love with His word more and more. I love God’s word, I love reading the Bible, I get excited when the written, God breathed words breathe fresh life into me! It never gets old! God has given me a love for His word and it really is my desire for all to have the same love.
God has also given me wisdom in circumstances and situations. When I reign myself in and ask God to direct my steps, and my thoughts, he will do it. He does it every time. But I can’t doubt that He will give me that direction. James’ description of being tossed by the wind is exactly how my insides feel when I am not leaning into Him for wisdom in my circumstances.
I like to read other translations just to get different perspectives. I always stick with a translation like the ESV, NIV or NKJV at the beginning of my study. But I will support it with the Message, or NLT or The Passion Translation. I read these to get a different wording. I really liked the Message translation of these verses.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who ‘worry their prayers’ are like wind-whipped waves.” James 1:5-7 (MSG)
I just like the plain English that this translation puts it. Many times I ask for His help when I don’t know which way to turn. And yes sometimes it’s hard to ask Him and then not “worry my prayers”. But that is not how we are supposed to ask. We should ask Him, lay them at His feet and then wait in FAITH for His direction to show us what we need to do next.
Restore 