Prayer For Wisdom And Discernment For All Who Make Decisions That Impact Others

 Prayer For Wisdom and Discernment

In whatever ways we may agree or disagree with political leaders and the decisions they are making as we all face the COVID-19 pandemic, it has to be tough to be in their shoes during his period.  There I no such thing as unlimited resources and yet the calls for financial support for this sector or that in the economy continue to come every day.  We are already seeing the kind of deficit spending that is breath-taking and one wonders how all this massive debt will actually be paid back and what cost it will have on all of us going forward. 

Small business owners and so many others are trying to find creative ways to operate their businesses safely and meet health requirements.  With increasing shut-downs many are looking for ways to simply stay afloat and are looking for wisdom to know what to do.  They have families to feed and mortgages or rent to pay each month.  They feel the responsibility for their employees with similar needs and vulnerabilities.

In the middle of all that we have an overloaded health care system and doctors and nurses and other staff who have been working full out for months now in circumstances that threaten their own health and that of their loved ones should they contract the virus and take it home.

It’s a sad scenario when medical personnel speak of how the system is getting to the point where patients might need to be triaged and decisions made about who gets care and who doesn’t. I would not want to find myself in such a situation.  None of us would.

The need for wisdom is great.  King Solomon faced great challenges and when God asked Him,

the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  1 Kings 3:5

This was Solomon’s reply:

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”  1 Kings 3:7-10

Let’s join in the prayer for wisdom today for ourselves and for those who are making these critical decisions every day that impact the lives of so many other people.

Loving God, You have brought us to these days and You have promised us that You will not give us more than we can handle.  Well, on our own, many many situations are more than we can handle, but You promise us wisdom and strength to know and do what is right and good every day of our lives.  You’ve told us that when we lack wisdom we should ask You and You will give generously to all without finding fault. 

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

And so our prayer today is that like Solomon you would give us a discerning heart to know how to make wise choices, to distinguish between right and wrong, and to care for other both in our circle of influence and those who might well be impacted by choices we make that we are not even aware of.

We do pray for those who are making medical or political or business decisions today that touch the lives of many individuals and families.  Give them courage and grace and unusual discernment to know what to do and what to wait to do.  Show them the degree to which they should act and hold back.  Fill their hearts with generosity and grace as they make the hard choices necessary during these times.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  James 3:17

Your word tells us that the wisdom that represents Your heart is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere – in these times where so many theories and conspiracies are shown on various media, we need Your wisdom to sort out truth and to make wise choices.  Fill us with Your wisdom today we pray.  Help us to represent You well.  Amen