Seek Wisdom

James 1:2-8

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Facing trials is not something that most people look forward to.  We often feel like trials are a negative thing however here in James we are told to consider it pure joy.  We are told that when we do, it produces perseverance. 

When facing a trial, we often ask others to pray.  We likely pray ourselves.  What are you praying for though?  Are you praying for wisdom or are you praying for God to “fix” whatever is wrong?  We are told to seek wisdom from God.  Once we figure out how to do that, we must take it a step further and not just ask but we must believe and not doubt.  This does not mean that God is going to answer our prayer as we want.  It does however mean that we must learn to trust God with whatever answer he gives us.  If we doubt, we should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 

Today I want to encourage you to start with seeking wisdom instead of praying for just what we want.