Photo by P Dorowski
James 1:5
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.
So, why don’t I ask for wisdom every day? There are so many things I put before my God: guidance, help, protection, transformation, and so on. But I don’t specifically ask for wisdom. Wouldn’t that particular answered prayer help with all the other ones? Doh!
Based on James, God doesn’t find fault or hold back wisdom in the face of our mistakes. God doesn’t say, “No wisdom for you today, you’ve made too many mistakes.” There’s a lot of grace, then, in the gift of wisdom. It’s a helper, just like Eve was intended to be in the first story about men and women.
I’ve often wondered if Solomon was disappointed with his gift of wisdom and simply stopped using it? I mean, how else does a person go from doing everything right to accumulating so many women (700 wives & 300 concubines) and so much stuff that he finally tears the kingdom in two by the time of his death. Clearly, his WQ hit rock bottom by then.
I’m wondering today, is wisdom a like Manna? Does it have to be refreshed each day, given each day anew, or it becomes corrupt if someone tries to hold on to it beyond the time, the moment, the day?
I could really use some wisdom just to get through this night. And tomorrow, I think I’ll check in on the wisdom handout again. Thank you God.
Meditations from Zion 
Great post! Wisdom and understanding go hand in hand in Proverbs. I think the understanding is referring to the scripture. So we must read the Bible to gain wisdom.
The work of Neil Douglas-Klotzs explains that the transliterated Aramaic phrase Hawvlan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana is usually translated, “Give us this day our daily bread.” The Aramaic word for ‘bread’ (lakhma) appears in several of Jesus’s sayings. The Aramaic word for Holy Wisdom is (hokhma) also based on the root (KhM), and as part of the same root family can also mean understanding, or more broadly, that which feeds the ‘I,’ whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or any other level. Aramaic Semitic sensibilities suggest that the Lord’s Prayer not only asks for physical bread but may also be seen to ask for understanding or Wisdom to guide us unto the next step of our life. Perhaps your WQ just needs hear the depth that words of the prayer Jesus gave us may contain. More details and attribution at http://welterandwaste111.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/%E2%80%9Cgive-us-this-day-our-daily-bread%E2%80%9D/
Ray
Thank you for that additional insight. Makes sense.
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You’ve inspired me to ( try to remember to) ask for wisdom every day. It should make a difference!