Acquire Wisdom

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
“Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
“She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.” – Proverbs 4:5-9

All Godly wisdom comes “from above” (Jas. 3:17), from God – from reading, studying, and meditating on His Holy Word (Scripture, the Bible, Matt. 4:4; Psa. 1:2). One must desire it (Pro. 8:10-12; 16:16; Psa. 19:10; 119:127); one must earnestly want to get it (Pro. 2:2-5; 3:3; Psa. 1:2), and one simply needs to “ask” of God to get it through prayer (Php. 4:6-7; Jas. 1:5-6). Scripture gives the sequence as: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Pro. 9:10), “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding” (Pro. 4:7), and “His delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night” (Psa. 1:2), “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Jas. 1:5). The steps above then culminate with: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:17-18).