“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)
BUT IF YOU LACK WISDOM
These verses draw us aside for a moment to consider another, yet related subject. In the ASV the revisers begin this paragraph and the next, vs. 9-11, with the conjunction “but.” This helps us to see more clearly the connection of these verses to the previous ones. The latter part of verse four and the first part of verse five would then read like this: “that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lack wisdom … ” In other words, James brings up an exception to our former consideration.
YOU NEED WISDOM NOW
The perfect work of patience is to bring us to a maturity and soundness so that we need not feel at a loss, but are adequately equipped to live victoriously under any and all circumstances. James uses the words, “lacking in nothing.” But there is one vital and important thing that we may lack which we must not be content to wait for through the process of trial and growth. That one thing is wisdom. We need wisdom now!
DON’T WAIT — ASK GOD
Contrary to the viewpoint of the world, true wisdom does not come about through the process of growth or time. Wisdom is a gift from God. It is to be asked for. The world pictures men as becoming wise and possessing wisdom. The Christian learns that only God is wise, and we must receive of His wisdom. It is written of our Lord Jesus Christ that He was of God made unto us “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that according as it is written, He that gloried, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Cor. 1:30-31)
WISDOM FROM ABOVE
Are not our failures and mistakes failures in wisdom? Have we not failed to ask God for wisdom? Have we not often depended on our own wisdom instead? Should we not pray as Solomon of old, when he prayed, saying: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart … that I may discern between good and bad?” (1Kings 3:9) We are further told that “it pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.” “And God said unto Him …. Behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart.” (1Kings 3:10-12)
First Corinthians chapters one and two show how God has put to naught the wisdom of men. Paul said he could not use the wisdom of this age or the princes of this age, but only God’s wisdom, wisdom that is taught to us by the Holy Spirit. We cannot wait for the process of time. We need wisdom now. We must ask now. We are instructed to ask of God who gives to all men liberally. (Prov. 2:1-7) We are to understand the “all men” to mean, all men who ask. Oh what a wonderful promise! He is willing to give wisdom without measure. It is His wisdom, and he will share it with His children. He also instructs us to ask because He knows more than we do just how much we really need it. If we are to carry on successfully the work which He has put in our hands to do, truly to be lights in this world and the salt of the earth, to be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves, to rightly proclaim the Gospel, and to glorify Him, we will need wisdom from God. “And to him that asketh, it shall be given.”
GOD IS WAITING FOR US TO ASK
But why was it necessary to add the words, “and upbraideth not?” Why was the Holy Spirit so careful to assure us that when we asked for wisdom from our Heavenly Father He would not scold us or make us feel foolish for asking?
First, He is anxious for us to know that the request for wisdom is always in order and always according to His will. Second, because while we might expect this sort of thing from the world, it would never come from our Heavenly Father. The world enjoys making sport of and ridiculing the child of God, who, he says, is a weak sort of person who needs his religion for a crutch. “Stand on your own two feet,” “be confident,” “you’ve got a head on your shoulders … use it.” Such among many are the remarks of the proud who would scoff at the idea of pausing to ask wisdom from God. But the Christian is only being honest in confessing that which God already knows to be true. The decisions and actions of those who name the name of Christ are so important that they require the seeking of help and guidance from above. Yes, the world laughs at such careful living, but our Heavenly Father commands it.
BUT WE ASK IN FAITH
There is a condition connected with our asking however, and the rest of these verses deal with ideas connected with that condition. The condition upon which the effectiveness of our prayer rides is that of asking in faith, nothing wavering, without doubts. Our asking must not be merely the saying of prayers, but rather the very expression of faith. First faith, then prayer. “I believed, and therefore have I spoken.” (1Cor 4:13) To avoid misunderstanding perhaps we should say it still in another way. Our faith is in God’s Word and we express this in our prayer. Much more will be said concerning faith as well as prayer in the following chapters. But let us understand here that our faith is based on God’s will as expressed in His Word. We must be satisfied and be at peace within ourselves, being certain we understand what He wants, what His intent is in the Word that is before us. Otherwise we cannot pray in faith, and we will have times of doubt. We will find our determination waver. We will be like the surging of the restless sea, driven by the wind and tossed.
Oh, the bliss of knowing for certain what the will of God is concerning a matter. How important it is to have the aid of the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us in all the matters dealt with in His Word. John wrote these most assuring words: “and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask for any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1John 5:14-15)
IT WAS GOD’S IDEA — THEREFORE I DOUBT NOT
Our confidence and knowledge that He will grant us what we ask for is based upon our first knowing that we understand His will. And His will is revealed in His Word. Anything short of this — that is, finding His will and pledging ourselves to it — and we become the double-minded man who cannot really expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Double-minded? How so? The only alternative to our mind being influenced from above is that it be influenced by the world and its ways. Either we have the mind of God or the mind of the world. It is the mixture of the two that creates double-mindedness. Thus the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. He is not a reliable representative of either way — God’s way or the world’s — but whichever is convenient, back and forth, back and forth, like a restless wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.
HIS WORD AND HIS WILL
The reason we see so little genuine faith today and so few definite answers to prayer is because Christians are not living “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4) We must live within its pages and digest its every word. Then and only then will we become so acquainted with His will as to be able to approach Him in prayer confident that His and our interests and desires are one. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:17)
WHEN HE HAS NOT SPOKEN HIS WILL
But now I hear someone asking, what about the things we would ask for that are not specifically mentioned in God’s Word, personal things and desires? For example, we know it is His will to ask for wisdom from above because he plainly says it. But what about asking for a certain job, or to move to a certain city, or for that grouchy neighbor to move so I can have peace?
HAVE FAITH IN GOD
It is true we cannot ask for these things in faith, without knowing what we will of the Lord is in this matter. But it is also true that we still should pray. And our praying can be in faith, not in asking for these doubtful things, but rather asking for His will concerning these things, that they be doubtful no more. Even as Paul prayed in regards to that “thorn in the flesh”, which was a constant irritation to him. (2Cor. 12:7-10) He could not pray in faith that it be removed, for he had no basis for such faith. But he prayed, and kept on praying, until God revealed His will in the matter. It turned out that God had a reason for it to remain. Paul accepted God’s will and found peace. It was not God’s will to remove it, but to give him grace to live with it. Paul’s faith in this case was not a promise for a specific answer, but in the God of answers and promises, the One who does all things well. But we will talk more of these things later.