Regarding our requests to God James writes, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6, NASB).
This means that when we pray to God, we can’t be double-minded; believing one minute and doubting the next. I believe we have all been there. At one point we say we know God has our back. Then later we are asking, “God, where are you!”
James subsequently writes, “For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord” (verse 7).
According to this verse, all prayers void of unwavering faith are to no avail! I know; that’s a pretty blunt statement. But then biblical truth is uncompromising. And if we accept the authority of the Scriptures, we must view all biblical teachings on prayer and faith in accordance with the verses quoted above.
The Implications upon Jesus’ Teachings on Faith
Jesus said to His disciples, “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (Mark 11:24, NASB). We often quote this verse as the basis for what we expect God to do for us. But the verses quoted above from James’ epistle have implications on what Jesus said. Based upon those verses, the faith Jesus is referring to is unwavering faith.
This post is not about the quantity of our faith but the quality of it. Remember, Jesus said we can do amazing things with faith the size of a mustard seed. But again that faith must be unwavering faith. It is the only kind of faith that can move mountains and the hand of God on our behalf.
Unwavering faith is not happenstance. Neither is it incidental to becoming a Christian.
Think about Jesus’ disciples. They literally lived with Him throughout His public ministry. They heard all of His teachings and witnessed His countless miracles. That must have been a surreal experience. Still, at times these men failed to walk in genuine faith. Jesus even called them faithless and unbelieving at times (see Matthew 8:26, 17:17, for example).
This unwavering faith that God calls us to is essential to effectively living the Christian life. Why? Because faith is the essence of Christian living. No one can effectively live the Christian life without genuine faith. Nothing else is powerful enough to move the mountains in our life or the hand of God on our behalf.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.