Wise advice to pray for wisdom

Wise advice to pray for wisdom

by | Feb 6, 2025 | James

By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross

Whether it’s competing in rodeo, raising cattle or working with horses, there is a lot to learn. The same is true of any job, hobby or interest that we pursue.

If I keep breaking the barrier during team roping but can’t figure out why I always leave that box a split second too soon. Someone with more experience may have advice to help me find that sweet spot between breaking the barrier or hesitating too long.

I’ve got a calf that just doesn’t seem to be putting on weight. I’m going to take supplement advice from a more experienced rancher a few miles down the road or what a veterinarian I know might suggest.

We need wisdom to make right choices or improve.

And when we are faced with a challenge in our personal life, especially when it’s unlike any conflict or struggle we’ve encountered before, we might not have the first clue what to do. James gives us some direction.

James 1:2-5 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 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.

First, we learn that we should actually find joy in a trial we face but we have to remember this isn’t an emotion like being happy we’re going through a divorce, we lost our job or we broke our collar bone again and have to miss the next six rodeos—it’s a response to the understanding that God will do something good in that struggle. We can have a joyful attitude in the knowledge God is building us up while we face the current challenge.

James also suggests this response to a trail: pray for wisdom.

There are lots of examples in the Bible about praying for help and deliverance from a struggle but in this lesson from James, he’s specifically telling us to ask God to give us wisdom. That wisdom could be a solution to the struggle, it could be guidance on next steps or it could be clarity on what God is doing in us that we can be joyful about.

If this is specifically what he is directing us toward, we can trust that it is good advice to follow.

We wouldn’t ignore a veterinarian’s suggestion on how to treat a horse’s infected foot. We know the vet knows more than us and can trust his or her advice. A champion bronc rider’s suggestion on how to get your feet to the front is advice we can trust.

James was taught be Jesus and was a significant teacher in the formation of the early church. Then when he tells us to pray for wisdom, I think that would be the wise thing to do.

Asking how a bull bucks is seeking wisdom, asking for godly wisdom will take you further

Asking how a bull bucks is seeking wisdom, asking for godly wisdom will take you further

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Behind the Bucking Chutes

By Scott Hilgendorff / Cowboys of the Cross

Leaves of three, come and see, so pretty, do touch me. Isn’t that how that goes?

James 1:5 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.

Sometimes wisdom comes from personal experience. We really can learn from our mistakes. We can also learn from the experiences of others. We don’t have to touch poison ivy ourselves and experience days of itching rash, we can trust the wisdom of others. That’s where the real saying comes from: leaves of three, leave it be. Someone offered that piece of wisdom to make it easier to avoid the rash. That’s why you hear rodeo contestants asking about what to expect from the stock or bull they drew.

Sure, the unexpected can still happen but seeking advice is both using the wisdom of others and being wise ourselves in doing that.

But when we don’t know what to do, James tells us to seek wisdom from God and more often than what you might realize, His wisdom and the direction you need will be right there in the pages of the Bible. Digging in and knowing what’s in there for yourself is best but just like asking a more experienced competitor for advice on how much reign to give a bronc or what bull rope might work better for you, it’s wise to seek the wisdom of other Christians you know can help point you to the right scripture.

Through Cowboys of the Cross, we’re a small group of men with ties to the rodeo and bull riding, equestrian or ranch cowboy industries, who are here to try to help you gain stronger biblical knowledge and wisdom. We have new content on the this website every other Thursday to teach and encourage you, use social media to do the same and are literally a phone call or text away from you almost 24-7.

We don’t have all the answers but we also have more mature and knowledgeable believers who we turn to when we need wisdom or guidance. As James instructs, first pray to God to ask for His wisdom, but then turn to the pages of the Bible to seek that. If you’re stuck, seek advice from a more mature Christian who you know has wisdom you haven’t gained yet.

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