Read: James 1:2-8

Are you wise? Do you have a lot of wisdom or do you lack wisdom? Here we are told that if we lack wisdom, we must ask God for it and he will give it to us.

But what is wisdom? The Bible teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We know that to fear God means to know and believe in him, to stand in awe of God, to love him and to know the Bible. Wisdom, then, it to use those things that we know about God to help us make decisions about what you do every day. That sounds complicated, doesn’t it? Simply put, to have wisdom means to know how to act in your everyday life in a way that will be pleasing to the Lord.

If you are struggling with your schoolwork, having wisdom would mean that know to pray to God for help and then to be willing to ask the teacher to help you. Wisdom is trusting God when you are sick or lonely. Wisdom is joyfully obeying your parents when they ask you to clean your room. Wisdom is not getting upset when can’t go to your friend’s party. Wisdom is praying for trust in God when you are overly worried. Wisdom is having joy, even in hard times (v. 2)

Now do you think you are wise? We all act in unwise ways. We all lack wisdom. And that’s why we are told to ask God for wisdom. And he has promised to give it to us generously. This means God, in love, is very happy to give us wisdom. But we need to ask him for it. We need to pray for wisdom. So next time you need to do something or are struggling, before you act, ask God for wisdom and he will help you to make wise decisions. Never act before praying for wisdom. Then, yes, you will be praying many times during the day, but you can pray as you play and work, asking God to help you act in a way that is pleasing to him.

Reflection with your child:

What must you do to get wisdom?

Source: Meditation by Rev. R. Vermeulen