The Wisdom Prayer

I. Obedience and Sacrifice precede Wisdom and Guidance (vs. 6)

- we may withold tithes, service, participation, etc. until God does something

- when we give these things to God, He will then guide us (vs. 7)

- while God may not appear in the middle of the night to ask us what we want, He will guide us if we only ask Him; "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matt. 7.7)

II. God should be our ultimate source of Wisdom and Guidance (vs. 8 & 9)

- Solomon understood that God was the reason for his father’s success

- Solomon also realizes the God is responsible for where he is, and recognizes that his own success is dependent on doing what God wants him to do

- If we want guidance in our lives, we should go to the source; "But if any of you lacks wisdom, then ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to you." (James 1.5)

III. We should always seek Wisdom and Guidance for doing God’s Work (vs. 10)

- There were many areas Solomon might have asked for guidance in: finances, military endeavors, relationships, etc., but his primary concern was help in doing what God wanted him to do

- Because Solomon put God’s work first in his life, he was blessed in all other areas (vs. 11-13); see Matt. 6.33

- We need to constantly check our motives when we ask God for something; "You ask and you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives . . .(James 4.3a)