What the Body of Christ Desperately Needs Most in This Hour

The spirit of wisdom is one of the seven Spirits of God as wisdom is one of the primary qualities or characteristics of God’s Holy Spirit.

He is wisdom personified, and “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself” (1 Cor. 1:30a, NLT).

To exist above the turmoil in the days in which we live, increased wisdom is needed for every member of the body of Christ.

But I would especially emphasize to all of our graciously gifted prophetic people: more than divine revelation, we need an increase in wisdom, understanding and application so we can handle the Word of the Lord in a more excellent and effective way.

Without the bridge of wisdom in place, along with the motivation of love from a pure heart, our precious cargo of prophetic revelation might simply end up as a bunch of dumped out excessive verbiage.

Luke 2:52 (MEV) states, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men.”

Bottom line—if we are going to follow in His footsteps, and if Jesus grew in wisdom as a part of maturation process, then none of us are exempt. Right?

It comes with the territory.

Bob Jones, prophetic seer and forerunner now with the Lord, used to tell those of us who were younger up and coming prophetic seers, “It’s the worst day to be a know-it-all!”

What Is Wisdom?

Wisdom is so important to God that altogether the words “wisdom” or “wise” are used more than 456 times in the Bible.

Clearly wisdom is a valuable commodity!

Yet do we even understand what wisdom is, or do we just presume we know already?

The wise apostle James again provides some idea of what God’s wisdom consists of: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:17-18).

Synonyms for the word “wisdom” help flesh out its meaning. They include: understanding, knowledge, good sense, insight, perception, astuteness, acumen, prudence, sagacity, good judgment and more.

I want and need multiplied quantities of every one of those qualities. How about you?

Some believers in every generation exemplify wisdom to a high degree. In everything they say and do you can recognize the mind and heart of God.

Their character is sterling. They care about others more than themselves. They humbly seek God before they give advice or take action.

Like anybody, they can veer off the narrow way (Solomon did), but the good fruit of their lives far outweighs the bad.

Wisdom is invaluable for any believer alongside any of the gifts of the Spirit.

You and I need all the wisdom we can get, particularly when we are handling a word of revelation.

Acquiring Wisdom

But how can we best lay hold of God’s wisdom?

We already know we need to surrender ourselves to His Lordship and to lean on Him continually, but does that guarantee that His wisdom will flow into our lives?

How does this wisdom come to us?

Is it a sovereign gift from God? Is it a spiritual presence of some sort? Is our personal wisdom assembled from much reading and studying? Or does it come mostly from experience, from spending years in the school of hard knocks?

There is no one answer, because wisdom comes through all the above. We can see that when we simply search for the word “wisdom” in Scripture.

Consider the following four practical ways of acquiring ever increasing wisdom:

Wisdom as a Gift

“To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:8).

Wisdom as a Spirit

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isa. 11:2).

Wisdom From Studying

“Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Wisdom Arising From Life Experience

“For a just man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked will fall into mischief” (Prov. 24:16).

“Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent” (Prov. 17:28, NLT).

Our increase in wisdom will not happen automatically.

Like me, you surely have met people you knew many years before and you have been dismayed to see that they never matured much at all. They still act like zealous teenagers who are “wet behind the ears.” They do not even realize that they are immature lacking in wisdom that their life experience could have brought them.

I know that Scripture says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10a, MEV), so humble surrender to God must be the first step.

I also know we need all the wisdom we can get and that we never have enough of it as long as we are alive on this earth.

The apostle James clearly stated that we must ask for more wisdom—and that if you do, God will grant it.

So let’s get to asking!

An Invitation to Step Into the Wisdom Ways of God

How can we step into the next place of growth in the wisdom ways of God? I get my practical template from James 1:5-6.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without wavering. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed with the wind.”

How do we make our requests to God for wisdom?

Well, in the simplest of terms. We simply admit, “God, I lack wisdom.”

And then we acknowledge, “But You have a limitless supply of wisdom and you have shown Your desire to share it with the people You have created. You have come to us as Jesus, who is wisdom itself. I ask You to release Your wisdom to me concerning the problem in front of me.”

And then expect God’s wisdom to rise up in you. You may not have to wait long! Ask with complete faith that God wants to answer your prayer, and He will.

If you are called to have a prophetic ministry on any level, you will need to grow in the spirit of wisdom, to increase in wisdom as Jesus did.

His heavenly wisdom is available to you simply for the asking. Start asking in faith now. I can assure you that you are in very good company as you step out and pray. {eoa}

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Dr. James W. Goll is the founder of God Encounters Ministries. He is an international bestselling author, a certified Life Language Coach, an adviser to leaders and ministries and a recording artist. James has traveled around the world ministering in more than 50 nations sharing the love of Jesus, imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry and life in the Spirit. He has recorded numerous classes with corresponding curriculum kits and is the author of more than 50 books, including The Seer, The Prophet, The Discerner, The Lost Art of Intercession and Praying with God’s Heart. James is also the founder of GOLL Ideation LLC, where creativity, consulting and leadership training come together.

For the original article, visit godencounters.com.