Prayer.

Reading: Prov 2:3.

Meditation.

We need to pray for insight desperately. And when I say need, I mean need. As in – we need air to breathe kind of need. Verse three of Proverbs 2 shows us something very important. You can study the Scriptures with the rigour of an academic. You can pour hours into their pages. You can become a biblical scholar whose entire life is spent researching the contents of the Bible. But without God’s help, you simply will not receive wisdom (verse six makes that clear).

If we would have wisdom, regular, consistent, diligent, desperate prayer will be needed. Notice that verse three is not calling us merely to pray a little bit. It is not saying that we should ask for wisdom only when we happen to remember. There is a sense of desperation in this verse. We need to know that, without God’s gracious enabling, we are doomed. Therefore, we must cry out desperately and raise our voices for understanding.

Be ye doers of the word…

How often do you cry out for wisdom? If the answer is “not much” or “not at all,” then the application is very simple: you need to make a change. We cannot afford to rely on our own wisdom. We need God’s wisdom—desperately. So cry out for it.

Now, here is an encouragement to match that weighty call: God will give us wisdom. This whole section is structured as an “if... then” statement. If you do this, then this will happen. We see the “if” in verses 1 and 3. But what comes after the “if”? Verse five: “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” This is a promise from God. If you ask him for wisdom, that is not something he is going to refuse you. As James 1:5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

So as you ask for wisdom, stake your life on this promise: it is a prayer that God will answer. He will not leave you hanging. As you look to Christ and cry out for wisdom, he will give it to you.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration.

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