Been wrestling with James 1 since a Bible study a couple of weeks ago. Because James ask us to do the impossible to “count it all joy when we fall into all kinds of soul trying situations.”
What I want to focus on is the If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God in faith and no doubting because the man that waivers is double minded and should not expect anything from God.
What I’ve come to understand is that it’s not that we don’t ask from God, it is that WE DON’T BELIEVE THAT HE CAN answer our prayer. We are prone to focus on the problem the difficulty and doubt that God is even able to do what we request, and the possibility that he is unwilling to answer our prayer for whatever reason mixes in.
For example because we are insignificant, or unworthy, our wants are unimportant distractions to God, or we are asking with the wrong motives, have lack of information on exactly what we should be praying about, or doubt God is even willing to answer our prayer. So the thought of his unwillingness in our minds clouds or interferes with our faith in his ability to answer our prayers. James is saying DON’T DOUBT THAT GOD IS ABLE if he is willing to answer our prayer!
So, when we make a request we should not doubt that HE IS ABLE to answer that request.
So we see the kid David going out to kill Goliath, Daniel in the lion’s den, and his 3 friends
” If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods…Daniel 3:17-18
We see the woman with the issue of blood, the Centurion Soldier with the dying child: ” just speak the word and my child will be healed”, all come to Jesus WITHOUT A DOUBT that he was ABLE to do the miracle they needed in their life. They wanted a miracle and didn’t doubt. We ask for smaller things and doubt God’s ability to give them to us.
So James is saying to us have that same type of faith in God’s ABILITY to answer the request, and do the thing we come to him in prayer with. In this case asking for wisdom to count up all tribulation in our life to JOY because:
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 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. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.-James 1:2-8 KJV
It is evil to limit God’s power in our heart while facing him in prayer, or give up on our requests because we faint and doubt. This child belongs to another father, not our Father in heaven who has demonstrated his all powerful abilities. Read all of James 1.
But the one doubting…he has been condemned, because it is not of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.—Rom 14:23
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Luke 18:1 KJV
