Job 28:28 (NASB)
28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

Job repeats in chapter 28 the same words that were used to describe him at the beginning of the book of Job. The word fear is not the same fear in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:24, in how the servant with one talent viewed his master. Rather it is the feeling expressed by Solomon in Proverbs 16:16. These are great and high thoughts of God; thoughts of respect, devotion, affection, and love.

So wisdom comes from a right attitude of God and from a closer and more thorough understanding of God. Our understanding of God would then seem to have a big impact on our approach to prayer. I know my understanding of prayer has changed a lot over the years, and I know it has a long way to go.

If we are to know God, we must have a desire and a willingness to be taught. That prompting comes from the Holy Spirit, but we must be willing to respond. We must humble ourselves, become the pupil under the tutelage of the Spirit. As we grow in our spiritual walk, that humility has to keep us grounded in the knowledge that we all have so much farther to travel on our path than we have been so far.

I can remember when the only way that I learned about spiritual things was from the Sunday sermon. I didn’t read the Bible, I didn’t spend time in prayer. That 30 minutes a week was all that I was willing to spend getting to know God. What I didn’t know at the time was that the sermon is only meant to challenge me to examine the teachings of another person. It is only meant to be a preamble to my own study of scripture, to test it and to find out what God has to say to me about His Word.

It is the same with prayer. We can learn much from the prayers within the Bible. We can also learn from others as we pray with them in corporate prayer. But it is the Spirit that teaches us how to commune with a Holy God, the God that we respect and love. Prayer is God’s way of giving us the opportunity to grow in our love relationship with Jesus. As that love grows, our faith and joy increases and we want to know Him more and more.

Jesus, thank you for the Spirit who is always there ready to teach. Help me to be a willing and humble student as you impart your wisdom into my very soul. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,