Christian Growth Network : Pray for Wisdom AND Revelation

In times of decision, the most common prayer request made is one for wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to know how to proceed based on the information you have available to you. The Scriptures promise believers that if we come to God in faith asking for wisdom, He will always grant it to us. (James 1:5)

Recently, I have discovered that while my prayers for wisdom were good, they were not complete. I realized that in addition to asking for wisdom, I also needed to ask for revelation. If we define wisdom as knowing what to do based on the knowledge at hand, then we can define revelation as the increase of knowledge.

When more light and insight is shed on our situation, it can change our perspective and often lead to a different and better choice. For this reason, praying for revelation and wisdom is essential. When I shared this idea with a friend, he caught what I was saying and was able to put it into a picture that he quickly drew on a napkin. (See diagram below.)

Revelation feeds us more knowledge or insight. Knowledge feeds into our process of understanding wisdom. Wisdom helps us determine the right avenue of choice to take. All of these virtues are gifts from God (James 1:17) that he gives to us when we ask for them in prayer. (Matthew 7:7)

So consider today a situation where you are trying to decide what is right and begin by asking the Lord for increased revelation. You may pray something like this, “Lord, open my eyes to see all the options and understand what choices are available that I may not see. Give me revelation in this situation and wisdom to make the decision that would bring you the greatest pleasure.”

As we seek God for wisdom and revelation, we will gain new perspective on our lives, but also come to a greater understanding of the character and mind of God. (Ephesians 1:17-18)