Deep down, you know you need prayers for guidance and wisdom. It’s easy to feel like you’ve got a handle on everything in your life. Everything’s going according to plan and going your way…until it isn’t. You’re faced with a challenge you can’t overcome, maybe one you can’t even understand. Maybe you feel depressed or uncertain, or maybe you just know you need to be more godly.
I’ve felt that way. It reminds me of broken plays on the football field when my offensive line would let a guy through, a receiver would run the wrong route, or I’d just plain missed my read and the window that was there was now closed. I’d take off, scrambling for my life and hoping for a receiver to flash open. As bad as it could be, there was always the next play, the next series, the next game or the next season.
But it’s much harder in real life. There seems to be no next play, no reset. You need prayers for guidance so you can know what to do or prayers for wisdom to understand your situation better and be at peace with it.
Some Wisdom and Guidance God Has Given Me
You are not alone.
You’re doing something right already if you’re reading this and looking for prayers on guidance and wisdom. God assures us that He is our rock, always there with us, even when we are fearful and alone or full of doubt and uncertainty. Just as Jesus showed us in the Mount of Olives, we should call out to God when we’re in our moment of need.
God answers in many ways.
When we say prayer for guidance and wisdom, we must be open to listening for His answers in all of the forms that God speaks to us in. It could be a solution that wasn’t apparent before or God-given peace and understanding surrounding the matters that trouble you. It could be God speaking or working through a friend of yours. That’s why it’s so important to have times of reflection and journaling to hear and record everything that God is telling you.
Remember to be open and patient.
You are a son or daughter of God speaking to your Creator. It is an act of surrender to let God lead the way. It might not come how you expect it or on your timeline, but it is a part of your story and God’s story.
Reach out to others.
The Bible tells us that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matt. 18:20). Leaning on good male friends for strength and intentionally inviting God to be there with you is a powerful way to find peace and understanding. Your friends can share their unique perspectives or similar experiences, all with the presence of God guiding you.
5 Prayers for Guidance and Wisdom
1. A prayer for learning God’s ways: “Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5)
2. God’s promise for those seeking wisdom: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)
3. Commit yourself to placing your trust in God: “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:7-8)
4. A reminder that you don’t have the answers (or need to), but God does: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
5. God’s promise to instruct and counsel us: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Psalm 32:8-9)
Make Prayer a Part of Your Life—With Friends.
Make praying for guidance and wisdom a part of your everyday life with a group of guys committed to getting closer to God. Download the Playbook for Level 5 Friendship to get started.
