Surviving While Scattered: Praying Without Doubt Bible Study- James]
Photo credit: Christianjournals.org
James 1:5-8
A life full of doubt is not a very happy life. We are the people of God and have many amazing promises in Christ, so we really have no reason to doubt. And yet we do. Some of us toil in anxious fits when in reality, we have no reason to. But rest assured, because this is common. Sometimes we just find ourselves in moments of doubt.
But there is good news! Generally speaking, as we begin to grow in the faith, and our walk with God, these moments of doubt and worry will happen less and less. God wants to strengthen and build us, but our doubts can often get in the way of this. God wants to bless us and answer our prayers but we need to keep our doubts in check.
If we want to survive in this harsh and bitter world until we are with our Lord, we need to abandon our doubts. All through the Bible we can find God blessing faith, and cursing doubt.
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
The first thing we need to understand about prayer is that God isn’t going to correct us or be angry with us for praying to Him. The very act of praying is an expression of our faith. That is very pleasing to God! He certainly is not going to reproach us for doing something that He likes. However, what does upset Him and brings about His correction is when our faith is lacking.
1 kings 3:9-14
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
When we go to God without doubt He hears us. The story here in 1 kings is beautiful. Solomon asks God for wisdom so that he can lead His people. What is interesting about this is the fact that God ends up giving him so much more.
God gave Solomon exactly what he asked for, but in addition He gave Solomon all the things that any of us would want: Riches, honor, the lives of our enemies, and a promise for a long life provided that we follow Him. Imagine that for a moment. You could live day by day without having to worry about going through some sort of trouble that cuts your life short. I wonder how my father would have received this kind of blessing?
My father was shot and killed in the line of duty on July 23, 2021. Like everyone else in law enforcement, he knew that when he began his shift there was no promise that he would get to return home. That is how life works for the men and women in law enforcement. However, we can use this story of Solomon as encouragement for our prayer lives. We might not have this exact promise laid out to use as Solomon did, but we have a very strong biblical case that if we pray to God according to His will, He may even answer our prayers AND give us much more. (Matthew 7:7-11)
Proverbs 2:2-6
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
God can and will give us wisdom, but the Bible shows us that our faith does indeed come into play in regards to the response we get from God. Our degree of faith really matters to Him. If we doubt God, and fail to see the things of God as the treasure they are, God is not going to bless us with wisdom. The things of God, His words and teachings, should be as treasure to us!
Is there any doubt in your mind that if you found treasure right now, it would greatly Improve your life? Of course it would! Well, I submit to you that even better yet, we have the very words of God. We have the ability to tap into the mind of the creator of all things, available to us in a book. If we value His word, His teachings, and His wisdom as treasure.. and without doubt, He will bless that. But if we have doubt He is not going to bless us with wisdom or the things that we need from Him.
James 1:6-8
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
There are few things in life more enjoyable than watching the ocean and her waves. At least for me. God on the other hand is very displeased not exactly with the waves themselves, but when we behave ourselves like the waves.
See, God is trying to build us up into conformity with Jesus, but He isn’t going to build on top of a foundation made of water. In Ephesians 4:14 the Bible connects the idea that being wish- washy, rising high and falling low, not being anchored and establishing a strong foundation, is actually a childlike attribute. Of course, it goes without saying that a child being childlike is not the issue here. God wants us to grow into mature Christians and not remain spiritual children forever, at some point He wants us to grow up.
Notice in James 1:8 the Bible uses the expression “double minded”. God will not bless our lives when we are constantly doubting. He isn’t going to give us the things we want when we doubt what we even want in the first place. (Matthew 17:20. Hebrews 11:6)
We must remember to pray without doubting because when we go to Him in prayer He hears us. He will not be upset. We do not bother Him when we ask Him for things with a heart full of belief and trust. If we want to survive in this world until the return of Christ, we need to learn to pray to God without doubt.
If you are not sure that you are going to heaven, please get this settled today by clicking here: How to Go to Heaven.
If you found this helpful or interesting, please share this with a friend. Let’s help people grow in Christ!
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made
available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not
be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
