Prayer
Ask for Wisdom
James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given
to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
NKJV
To pray is properly to ask for God's wisdom and knowledge, to learn His Will for a given situation in your life. I believe that for all practical purposes, the entire Will of God is recorded in the Bible. God has set forth all of His "rules" and if we could but follow them 100%, we would always be in the Will of God and would understand and know what to pray for.
A young King Solomon sets the
true pattern for our prayers. At David's death, Solomon became king of
Israel. Solomon was greatly humble in his young age and understood his
place before God. We should strive to do the same.
1 Kings 3:5-9 5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon
in a dream at night; and God said, "Ask what you wish me to give you."
6 Then Solomon said, "You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant
David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness
and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this
great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne,
as it is this day. 7 "Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king
in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know
how to go out or come in. 8 "Your servant is in the midst of Your people
which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered
or counted. 9 "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge
Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge
this great people of Yours?" NASB
Being sinful, we do not always walk in God's Will. We fail to properly apply the teachings of the Bible to our daily life, and thereby fail to find God&s Will. It is by following Solomon's example and always seeking God&s Wisdom that allows us to grow. As James states (1:5-6) a prayer of faith is a prayer for wisdom to discern and understand God's Will in a given situation.
It is in these situations where
the Holy Spirit steps in to assist us. The Spirit prays for us as part
of the Holy Trinity so that through the Word, we may discover new meanings
and grow in maturity.
Romans 8:26-27 26 In the same way the Spirit also
helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the
Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27
and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because
He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
NASB
Look at the circle! We pray to God by the power of the Holy Spirit (God), so that we may act on the Will of God in our lives. It is by the power of God's Word that we may understand His Will and His direction and His instructions for our prayers. When we follow this circle of God-God-God-God, how can we lose?
This growth is the discernment of God's Will -- wisdom. Once we have discovered this discernment and wisdom, we should then pray for the power to perform the newly discovered Will of God.
