How Can I Grow in Discernment?
By AJ Pearson
“How can I grow in discernment? What does that actually mean? Is that different than wisdom?”
We talk about wisdom and discernment, but what do they mean? We may want to be wise and discerning but how do we do that? They are closely related, and we can grow in both, but before looking at how to grow, let’s define discernment and wisdom. In a devotional from the NIV Lifehacks Bible, wisdom is defined as “a capacity of the mind that allows us to understand life from God’s perspective.” Wisdom comes from a proper view of God (Proverbs 9:10; Colossians 2:2-3).
Discernment, defined by Oxford Languages, is “the ability to judge well.” Discernment is how we determine what is right and what is wrong, it is how we understand what God means by His word, and it can help to keep us from sinning against God. Discernment also keeps us from being led astray by false teaching and will keep us firm in what we believe. “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14). The more we grow in discernment, the easier it will be to spot false teaching. This will keep us from being led astray from what God teaches.
So how do we grow in discernment?
Growing in discernment starts with a desire to grow and comes through prayer and Scripture. Proverbs 2:1-5 shows how we must seek after understanding:
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
We must desire to know God’s ways; we must cry out in prayer for discernment. God is faithful to give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:7-11). Are we seeking discernment like we seek after treasure? Is our utmost desire to know and do the will of God? Prayer is crucial for our growth, we should pray to love what God loves and hate what God hates (Psalm 101:3-4, Romans 12:9). We also should be praying to love God’s word (Psalm 119:18, 36). Through His word we will learn to discern what is true and what is not; we will distinguish between what is good and what is evil.
So, we start with prayer and then we look at God’s word. A commitment to Scripture will help us grow in discernment. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” God is faithful to train and teach us through His word, spurring us onto growth in all righteousness, to include discernment. In Ephesians 5:8-10 we read “Walk as children of the light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the LORD.” How do we know what is pleasing to the Lord? He tells us in His word. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”
God wants us to obey His word. To do this, we have to know what it says and what it means; we need to have a commitment to Scripture, both in reading it and in hearing it taught.
The writer of Hebrews talks about children needing milk and the mature having solid food, the more we study and learn the word, the more mature our faith will become and the greater discernment we will have. “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14). We see here that the mature have their discernment trained by constant practice. A great tool for this can be scripture memorization. When you have scripture memorized you can meditate on the word of God throughout your day. Another option could be writing Scripture on a note card and keeping it in your pocket to read and meditate on throughout the day.
In summary, discernment and wisdom are similar and can be grown in the same ways, but discernment is more an action, whereas wisdom is more a quality. Wisdom is an understanding and a capacity to see things the way God sees them (as closely as we can). Discernment is our ability to distinguish between good and evil, truth and lies. And how do we grow in discernment? Simply put, prayer and Scripture.
RESOURCES
Scripture to Start With
Praying Scripture (John Piper’s IOUS Acronym)
I - Incline my heart to your testimonies (Psalm 119:36).
O - Open my eyes to see wonderful things (Psalm 119:18).
U - Unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11).
S - Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love (Psalm 90:14).