Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 42nd. Edition.
Dear People who are God’s own Possession,
Today we continue where we stopped yesterday. We are examining James 1:5-8. Beseech God (v. 5). We face many challenges, more so in the face of trials. The easy way out is often fraught with pitfalls, but knowing what path to take requires wisdom, a quality that is generally in short supply. As we have been warned before, “Choices have Consequences.” Knowing what to choose, in order to get good, constructive, and profitable consequences, is what wisdom is about.
We are encouraged to ask God for wisdom. Not only that, but God will not rebuke us for asking and will instead, supply generously. He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think,” (Ephesians 3:20). But when we ask, we ought to Believe God (vv. 6-8) and not doubt. Doubt attacks two basics of the faith: Confidence in God’s Capability. A person who doubts God’s power is like a “wave of the sea” that is “driven and tossed by the wind.” If we doubt God’s ability to do what we ask, we simply have no basis for prayer. Our prayers are nothing but wishes. And as you know, wishes are not horses. Confidence in God’s Care. It is possible to believe that God is able but not believe that he wants to answer our prayers.
We may have been disobedient and may want to wallow in our sinful mire, or we may not consider ourselves important enough for God to be bothered with. James describes such an attitude as “double-minded…, unstable.”
Let us not be like so many, who make prayer a routine, but one that has only the psychological effect of false comfort. When you pray, believe.
Your loving Pastor Chris.