We've all been there as children…asking our parents for a toy we know they probably won't give us because of the hefty price tag. The good news is that God is more like a grandparent in this regard than a parent. What am I talking about? God wants to shower us with gifts that we don't deserve, but He will only do so if we ask in faith. Even though we don't deserve a single nanosecond of God's attention because of our sin, He promises to give us all that we need to live for Him so long as we pray without doubting. James writes, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (1:5-8).
Like a warehouse that is is never out of stock of anything, God can give us the wisdom we need to serve Him best. We all know earthly stores will run out of certain products; this is why we have all traveled from store to store in our local town to find something that none seem to carry at the moment. But God is always in stock of what we need to serve Him. Patience, wisdom, love, forgiveness, peace…you name, God has plenty of it and doesn't show partiality to who He'll give it to. There is only one type of person unwelcome to God's storehouse of wisdom and that is the doubtful. Why is God so intent that doubters will never receive His gifts? Apparently there is something deeper rearing its ugly head in our doubting. Apparently our doubting is actually diabolical. You say, "How is doubting so bad?". James tells us at the end of this passage that unstable praying reveals unstable living. If part of a house is swallowed up by a sinkhole, the people living next door usually move out too because they know that this problem goes deeper than the visible damage. The foundation of prayer itself is faith and without faith, prayer becomes a declaration of God's weakness. The writer of Hebrews says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." (11:6). So doubting God is actually asserting God's inability. So instead of simply revealing an uncertainty about receiving something, doubting actually reveals an uncertainty that God is capable of giving us something…and thus becomes rather an announcement of God's weakness instead of a plea to God's all-sufficiency. We are called to pray believing that God is capable of doing all that is necessary for His glory and nothing less.
So lets say you've got a prayer request that seems practically impossible to your mind…perhaps for a hard-hearted spouse to be converted to Christ or a personal sin addiction to be overcome in your life. Let God's Word remind you of God's strength. Paul says in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us". Jeremiah states, "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you." (32:17). The writer of Hebrews states, "He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him" (7:25a). When you pray for the hard things to happen, first remind yourself of God's strength and cast yourself on Him alone who has the power to answer these prayers. I leave you with the greatest reminder of all that we should pray in faith. Paul says in Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?".
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