Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
– Proverbs 13:20
This is one of so many Proverbs that talk about the need to surround yourself with wise people so that you live wisely. Just literally what this verse says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise”.
Proverbs 13:20 emphasizes the value of surrounding yourself with spiritual wisdom.
You will be shaped by the people around you, the people who are influencing you. So make sure that people who are influencing you are wise. And not wise according to the ways of this world, but wise according to God and his Word.
Think about James 3. There is a significant difference between worldly wisdom and spiritual wisdom. Just a quote from James 3:17, “the wisdom that comes from God”–from his Spirit–”is pure peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, sincere, sowing a harvest of righteousness in peace by those who make peace”. That’s the picture we have of wisdom from above.
So surround yourself with people who are like that, knowing they will have a shaping influence in your life. At the same time, if you surround yourself with foolish people who are living according to the ways or the wisdom of this world, then they will shape you in ways that you’ll suffer harm. And obviously implicit in this picture in Proverbs 13:20 is a call for you and me to be wise, people who are influencing others in good ways, so that our influence in their lives helps them walk in wisdom.
Proverbs 13:20 shows how our friendships shape our future.
So God, we pray for this. In each one of our lives, we ask for wise friends and counselors, and influences in our lives. God, we pray for discernment to know who is wise and who is foolish, and to be influenced by those who are wise to walk with the wise, with people who have wisdom flowing from above that’s pure and peaceable and gentle and open to reason and full of mercy and good fruit, and who are impartial and sincere and are sowing harvest of righteousness.
God, we pray for all of that in the people who surround us. And God, we pray that you would make us that kind of people in such a way that we help others become wise. Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes to foolishness and those who are influencing us right now. And God, open our eyes to any ways we are being a foolish influence on others. God, we pray that you’d help us to become wise by walking with wise people.
And God, when we think about all these places in the world where there is no gospel, where your Word hasn’t gone, where your Spirit is not dwelling in people. God, we pray for the spread of your wisdom in Jesus, 1 Corinthians 1… In the gospel, in the cross, and in your Spirit, James 3…
Prayer for the Komering People of Indonesia
God, we pray for the spread of your wisdom in Jesus among the Komering people of Indonesia. God, we pray for this people group of half a million Muslims in Indonesia, most of whom have little to no knowledge of you. We pray for the few followers of Jesus who are there among the Komering people. God, we pray for their wisdom. We pray that you would help them to encourage one another. And God, we pray that the cross of Christ, your Wisdom, would spread through them among all the Komering people for your glory and their good. We pray all this according to your Word in Proverbs 13:20. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
