March 10 Prayer- Don’t Let Other Wind Win

I sat there next to him, watching the leaf sitting in the middle of the beach. “How long are we going to watch this leaf, Bud?” I asked him, trying to hold on to any ounce of patience I had left.

“I want to see which wind takes it!” My four-year-old finally explained excitedly.

“What do you mean, which wind?” I asked. “There’s only one wind. It just moves in different directions.”

“No, Mom,” he said, giving me a look like I knew nothing. “One wind could come to take it one way, or one wind could come and take it a different way. The winds fight- I want to see who wins!”

I didn’t know how much I wanted to argue with a four-year-old. He was my first kid, and I realized more that I had to decide which battles to choose, and I didn’t know the whole one-wind versus multiple-winds was the hill I wanted to die on.

“Okay, Bud,” I said. “Let’s see which wind wins.”

It would be another couple of months that my son believed there were “multiple winds.” And then, just like it is with kids, he moved on from the idea and I had almost completely forgotten that there was a time when this was a major thing.

Until I read the verse of the day.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

I used to get sad when I heard this verse because I did have doubts. I doubted often. This verse seemed to scold me for being human and having my doubts.

But now I don’t see it as being chastised, I see it as a warning sign.

Right before this verse, there is a beautiful promise- if we pray for wisdom, God will give it to us. How amazing is that?! But it comes with one warning- we cannot doubt once we are given that wisdom, otherwise, we will be blown and tossed by the wind.

That means whatever wind is the strongest will blow us away. If we have a choice to make, and God’s wisdom revealed one choice, but we doubt it, all the worldly opinions may be stronger and pull us in the other direction. In a way, it can almost seem like multiple winds, with the strongest one winning.

It is always good to seek wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 15:22) but make sure that the wise counsel is pointing you back to God. He will be our Rock when the wind comes so we do not get blown away. The more we seek God, the more we will be sure of His glorious wisdom. It is a process, but once we learn to hear God’s voice, we can have the power to not get blown away by the strongest voice in the crowd ever again.