GOT WISDOM?

James 1:5-8 – 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (New Living Translation)

Both Sides of a Spiritual Problem

☹ The deficiency of _______________ reasoning

Wisdom is the God-given insight into our human circumstances and situations that enables a person to see God’s will, coupled with a whole-hearted desire to see it done.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (New King James Version)

☺ The sufficiency of __________________ resources

• God gives wisdom _____________________

Psalm 145:16 – You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Christian Standard Bible)

• God gives wisdom ____________________ to all who asks

2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (New Living Translation)

• God gives ____________________ – without finding fault

Basic Steps of Successful Prayer

❏ Our prayer must be a __________

Matthew 27:50-51 – 50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. . . . (New Living Translation)

❏ Our prayer must be in ____________

• It is impossible to please God without ____________

Hebrews 11:6 – It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (The Message)

2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we walk by faith, not by sight. (New King James Version)

• Faith is not an _______________ of our prayers

• Faith is the ____________________ of the knowledge of God

❏ Our prayer must be __________ – without doubt

What are the winds that blow us off course when we pray?

• The wind of unsound __________________

Ephesians 4:14 – We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. (Contemporary English Version)

• The wind of unusual __________________

❏ The person who fails to fulfill the conditions for effective prayer

• _____________________ – “They will receive nothing from the Lord”

• __________________ – “They are double-minded”

• _______________ – A person with a divided heart leads a distracted life