Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — )
PROGRAM D-8157
Are you a wise person? God intends for his children to be wise. He offers to gives us wisdom—if we seek it, ask for it, and implement it in our lives.
When Solomon was appointed king by his father, David, God said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (I Kings 3:5). Solomon’s request was for a discerning heart to govern God’s people and to distinguish between right and wrong. God was so pleased that he asked for wisdom—rather than riches, power, or long life—that he gave him a wise and discerning heart. (1 Kings 3:5-14)
Years ago, I began to seriously pray for wisdom. I recognized that I was not naturally a discerning person; I could be easily fooled. I knew that God promised in James 1:5 to give me wisdom if I asked for it so, since then, I have regularly prayed for wisdom. In addition, I’ve made it a practice to read a chapter in Proverbs every day. There are 31 chapters, so in a month you read the entire book. This means you will read it twelve times in a year and, if you do this over several years, you will begin to get into your heart and mind the wisdom that is contained in Proverbs. It was written to give us wisdom and discipline; thus it’s really helpful in learning to be a wise person.
I remember one day making a decision—a tough one—that faced me unexpectedly, and afterwards I thought, “Wow, that was a good decision.” I was surprised to realize that I had made such a wise decision! Then I thought, “Mary, you’ve been praying for wisdom—and God answers prayer.”
If you want to be a wiser person, then I have a suggestion: First, read Proverbs every day. Then keep a journal as you read it and write down the wisdom that God speaks to your heart through each chapter of Proverbs.
Believe me, this is no gimmick. You can become wise by learning wisdom from God’s Word and praying it into your life. It really works! If you recognize that you need wisdom—and we all do—then make this commitment to read Proverbs and keep a journal. We’ve prepared 10 cards with Words of Wisdom from the Bible as our gift to you. You can find them on our website or we’d be glad to mail a set of these wisdom cards to you.