A Prayer about Living Well and Wisely

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. James 3:13

Wise Lord,

Yesterday, we prayed for help with our tongues. 

Today, we see that our words and our behavior 

can reveal your wisdom, or they can reveal the world’s wisdom. 

Foolishness comes from “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:13).

When we try to show off how great our kids are, 

how great our vacations are, 

how great our homes are, 

or when we want to have what someone else has,

we’re living out of the world’s wisdom. 

There’s nothing wrong 

with enjoying the good and perfect gifts 

you give us to enjoy in this life, 

but when we consider these gifts essential or earned,

when we forget to be grateful 

and instead become demanding, 

we are living out of the world’s wisdom. 

Wise people, you tell us, 

speak and live differently: 

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, 

then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, 

full of mercy and good fruits, 

impartial and sincere.” 

Wise people are at peace and seek peace.

Lord, by the mercy and grace of your Wise Son, 

please fill us with your wisdom. Amen. 

Read James 3:13-18.