Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer for a wise and understanding heart is good and right, and I thank God that you desire to seek Him with all your heart and to pour out your soul before Him. This hunger itself is a gift from Him, and He delights to give wisdom to those who ask.
The Scriptures teach that there are two kinds of wisdom. One is the wisdom of this world, which seems wise for a time but comes to nothing and cannot profit its possessors even in this life. The other is the wisdom of God, hidden in mystery, which God foreordained before the ages for our glory. The wisdom of the world trusts in itself and therefore becomes foolishness, but the wisdom from above makes even the simple wise, because Christ Himself has been made unto us wisdom. Do not seek wisdom as the world seeks it, but ask for that spiritual wisdom which comes through the Spirit and through faithful hearing of the Word. As you have quoted, walk with the wise and you will become wise, and this begins by walking with God in His Word, by withdrawing as it were to the mountain to hear Christ teach, apart from the tumults and display of ordinary life, and by receiving His words not carnally but spiritually, with the eyes within.
You also ask to be a good steward of all that He has entrusted to you. This is a holy desire. Every stewardship, whether it be speech or power or gifts or wealth or health, is given not for our own hurt or ruin, nor for the hurt of our fellow servants, but for the common advantage and for the glory of the Master. A faithful steward is required to have two things together, wisdom and fidelity. Fidelity, that he does not purloin or waste his Master's goods without aim, and wisdom, that he knows how to dispense what is given as is fitting. If one is lacking, the other halts. Pray therefore not only for knowledge, but for faithfulness to use what you know, and for wisdom to use what you have been given rightly. God will supply both as you seek Him diligently and learn effectively in His Word.
Concerning your body, I have heard your petitions for your teeth and especially the upper wisdom tooth on the right, for your eyes, for your entire left leg and the left side of the pelvis, for the lump in the upper part of the left leg and the lump on the abdomen, and for your stomach, intestines and whole gastrointestinal tract. We will pray that the Lord who made the body will bring complete healing according to His mercy and will. He is the true Physician, and His medicine does not fail. Seek no other remedy that dishonors Him, but look to Christ alone, sign your life with His cross and trust His power. Even affliction, when placed in His hands, can become a healing treatment for the soul, leading us to greater dependence and amendment, yet we may boldly ask for relief, for He is compassionate and hears those who call upon Him with faith.
Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, grant to Your servant a wise and understanding heart, that he may seek You with his whole heart and pour out his soul before You in prayer. Teach him in Your Word, open his eyes to see spiritual things, and fulfill in his life the promise that he who walks with the wise becomes wise. Make him a faithful and wise steward of all You have entrusted to him, that he may dispense every gift for Your glory and for the good of others. Touch his body with Your healing hand, his teeth and eyes, his leg and pelvis, the lumps that trouble him, his stomach and intestines, and restore him to health if it be Your will, that he may serve You with strength and thanksgiving. All this we ask in the holy name of Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
The Scriptures teach that there are two kinds of wisdom. One is the wisdom of this world, which seems wise for a time but comes to nothing and cannot profit its possessors even in this life. The other is the wisdom of God, hidden in mystery, which God foreordained before the ages for our glory. The wisdom of the world trusts in itself and therefore becomes foolishness, but the wisdom from above makes even the simple wise, because Christ Himself has been made unto us wisdom. Do not seek wisdom as the world seeks it, but ask for that spiritual wisdom which comes through the Spirit and through faithful hearing of the Word. As you have quoted, walk with the wise and you will become wise, and this begins by walking with God in His Word, by withdrawing as it were to the mountain to hear Christ teach, apart from the tumults and display of ordinary life, and by receiving His words not carnally but spiritually, with the eyes within.
You also ask to be a good steward of all that He has entrusted to you. This is a holy desire. Every stewardship, whether it be speech or power or gifts or wealth or health, is given not for our own hurt or ruin, nor for the hurt of our fellow servants, but for the common advantage and for the glory of the Master. A faithful steward is required to have two things together, wisdom and fidelity. Fidelity, that he does not purloin or waste his Master's goods without aim, and wisdom, that he knows how to dispense what is given as is fitting. If one is lacking, the other halts. Pray therefore not only for knowledge, but for faithfulness to use what you know, and for wisdom to use what you have been given rightly. God will supply both as you seek Him diligently and learn effectively in His Word.
Concerning your body, I have heard your petitions for your teeth and especially the upper wisdom tooth on the right, for your eyes, for your entire left leg and the left side of the pelvis, for the lump in the upper part of the left leg and the lump on the abdomen, and for your stomach, intestines and whole gastrointestinal tract. We will pray that the Lord who made the body will bring complete healing according to His mercy and will. He is the true Physician, and His medicine does not fail. Seek no other remedy that dishonors Him, but look to Christ alone, sign your life with His cross and trust His power. Even affliction, when placed in His hands, can become a healing treatment for the soul, leading us to greater dependence and amendment, yet we may boldly ask for relief, for He is compassionate and hears those who call upon Him with faith.
Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, grant to Your servant a wise and understanding heart, that he may seek You with his whole heart and pour out his soul before You in prayer. Teach him in Your Word, open his eyes to see spiritual things, and fulfill in his life the promise that he who walks with the wise becomes wise. Make him a faithful and wise steward of all You have entrusted to him, that he may dispense every gift for Your glory and for the good of others. Touch his body with Your healing hand, his teeth and eyes, his leg and pelvis, the lumps that trouble him, his stomach and intestines, and restore him to health if it be Your will, that he may serve You with strength and thanksgiving. All this we ask in the holy name of Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
