Use Your Head, and Pray

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” — James 1:5 (KJV)

Some people think that following God means switching off your brain and waiting for a sign. Meyer disagrees.

His third step is that we must gather information for our minds. He says God has given us “these wonderful faculties of brain-power, and He will not ignore them.” So we should find out the facts, learn from other people’s experience, and above all read the Bible.

He says the Bible is full of real people’s stories, so that “there is hardly a single crisis in our lives that may not be matched from those wondrous pages.” Whatever you are facing, someone in the Bible has faced something like it.

Then he says something very practical. God may occasionally ask us to act against our reason, but that is rare. Usually God guides us through what Meyer calls “sanctified common-sense”: thinking things through carefully with God, weighing the pros and cons.

He uses the story of Peter in prison. An angel woke Peter, unlocked his chains and led him out through the gates, because Peter couldn’t do that himself. But after a street or two, the angel left him to work out the rest for himself. Meyer says: “Thus God treats us still.” God does for us what we can’t do, and leaves us to use our minds for what we can.

His fourth step is prayer. “It is the law of our Father’s house that His children shall ask for what they want.” James promises that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and he will give it generously.

Meyer suggests a particular kind of prayer for big decisions: ask God to shut the doors that are not his will. Put the whole matter into his hands from the start, and trust him to stop anything that isn’t right.

So for any decision: find out the facts, talk to wise people, read the Bible, think it through, and pray. That isn’t less spiritual than waiting for a sign. It’s how God usually works.

One thing to do this week: for one decision you are facing, make a list of facts you need, wise people you could ask, and any Bible passages that might help. Then pray James 1:5, and ask God to close any door that isn’t his will.