“Agnes Sanford…was recommended to me by a friend as a fascinating and deeply spiritual woman who had had remarkable success as a faith healer. “Spiritual” was another of those words that I always choked on a little, and faith-healing was something I associated with charlatans and the lunatic fringe; but since my friend had only recently left the college chaplaincy to become a Jungian analyst, I couldn’t dismiss him as easily taken in, so I decided to accept his recommendation and go. I saw Agnes Sanford first in the dingy front hall of the building where the talks were to take place, and after no more than a few minutes’ conversation with her, I felt as sure as you can ever be in such matters that if there was such a thing as the Real Article in her line of work, then that was what she was. The most vivid image she presented was of Jesus standing in church services all over Christendom with his hands tied behind his back and unable to do any mighty works there because the ministers who led the services either didn’t expect him to do them or didn’t dare ask him to do them for fear that he wouldn’t or couldn’t and that their own faith and the faith of their congregations would be threatened as the result. I recognized immediately my kinship with those ministers. Agnes Sanford said…‘You had to expect. You had to believe.’ As in Jesus’ parables of the Importunate Friend and the Unjust Judge, you had to keep at it. It took work. It took practice, was in that sense not unlike the Buddhist Eightfold Path. More than anything else, it took faith. It was faith that unbound the hands of Jesus so that through your prayers his power could flow and miracles could happen, healing could happen, because where faith was, healing always was too, she said, and there was no power on earth that could prevent it.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Is there a teacher you had at one time whom you thought had the gift of wisdom? Or did you grow up thinking one of your parents or a grandparent was wise? What made them wise in your understanding? The gift of wisdom, in biblical terms would be the ability to make decisions and give guidance according to G-d’s will. We know that Solomon had asked G-d for wisdom, as it reads:

“That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?” Lord God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?” 2 Chronicles 1:7-10

The gift of wisdom describes someone who can understand and speak forth biblical truth in such a way as to skillfully apply it to life situations with all discernment. And discernment is one of the necessary tools for seeking wisdom. Buechner writes: “It was faith that unbound the hands of Jesus so that through your prayers his power could flow and miracles could happen, healing could happen, because where faith was, healing always was too, Agnes said…”

Discernment is always a part of wisdom – but apart from discernment we must believe that the wisdom of Jesus will flow through us throughout our lives. This is why we pray for discernment, and we pray for wise minds as we seek to live out the Christ-like life.

Pastor Dave