Saturday, March 22

Asking, Not Doubting

Saturday, March 22

James 1:6-7

James doubted Jesus…for a time.

Most scholars believe James was the 2^nd son of Mary, and the first full-blooded son of Joseph. We know from several Gospels (Matthew 12, Mark 3 & 6, John 7) that the brothers of Jesus did not initially believe in Jesus’ Messiahship. Why? Well, why does anyone doubt Jesus is the Christ? It’s too fantastic to be true. God and man do not mix. Religion is all made up…. It’s a material world… I don’t need a Savior.  And so on….

But James’ seeing his brother alive, after James knew He had been crucified, well, that helped the doubt to dissipate. (I Cor. 15) James, the brother of Jesus, believed in Jesus as his Messiah/Savior and would lead the Jerusalem church.  And James would eventually die for the faith he once had doubted.

James wrote these words for Christians: “But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6-8)

Sometimes doubting that the Lord answers prayer, or will even hear it, is actually doubting that there is a God. But other times we doubt that God will answer a prayer – the way we want it answered. Is that wrong, “double-minded”? Not really.

Our desires are always tainted by the weakness of faith. Faith is often weak; (I don’t see too many mountains being thrown into the sea… (Matthew 21:21… and would God want that, anyway?!) When we doubt if something is God’s will, that is more faith than doubt. We doubt that sort of prayer because we know very well that the new car, job, or even healing, may not be the will of the Lord.

Hannah, the mother of Samuel, “no doubt” prayed ardently for a child.  (It was not a miracle for which she was asking.)  Yet, for years she did not conceive. But all of that waiting set up the Kairos moment for God to use her son Samuel to grow up in a time when potent spiritual leadership was really needed. Had Hannah conceived a child in the regular time frame, it’s not likely she would have dedicated him to the Lord to live permanently at the location of the Ark of the Covenant, at age three. God knows what He is doing, so we ask boldly and boldly pray, “Thy will be done.”

When both of my daughters were quite ill, I recall struggling to believe that God would heal Jennifer as more time passed and she continued to struggle with cerebral palsy. I think my faith was shrinking as time passed; it was in part ceding to God’s will, and part a little doubt. When Steph had cancer, I was not really doubting, but I was too afraid of pain and loss to truly pray “Thy will be done.”

Praying honestly – mentioning our doubt to God (Mark 9:24) – is the best way to pray. Then God will deal with the more important part of the prayer – strengthening our faith!