Godly Wisdom and Prayer; James 1:5-8

Good evening brothers and sisters in Christ from the Panhandle. Well it's a little warm here tonight. Well actually it's nice outside but here in the house the air conditioner is broken so it's hot. This installment of our study in James deals with wisdom and prayer. Not just any kind of wisdom, but Godly wisdom. And not just any kind of prayer, but real prayer; prayer you expect to be answered.

An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.

"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."

The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money." – Betsy Devine and Joel E. Cohen, Absolute Zero Gravity, Simon & Schuster.

In verses 2-4 James has been talking about the purpose of our trials. Starting in verse 5 he anticipates that some of his readers will say that they cannot discover any divine purpose in their hardships. In that case, he says, they are to ask God for wisdom, that is practical insights into life (not theoretical knowledge), and God will grant such a request liberally or generously. Also God will give this wisdom without a scolding or reproach. There is, however, a condition set down. The request must be made in faith, no wavering, no doubting.

Wisdom is one of the great and unusual qualities of life—even for the Christian. With wisdom Christians can understand how trials merge into God’s plan for our lives. With wisdom we have the commitment to God’s will necessary to assure we follow Him and not wander from the path of His plan. James teaches that the only source of this godly wisdom, or that which comes from above, is God Himself. God is the source of wisdom.

There is a quality of the wisdom that people comes by primarily from the experiences of life. For example, a person shows wisdom when he or she does not touch a hot stove. Most of us have gained that little bit of wisdom through the painful experience of touching a hot stove at some time in our lives and gaining the desire never to do it again. That is the process of gaining early wisdom.

Of course, the longer we live, the more “hot stove” experiences we encounter; older people are usually wiser people. James is inviting us, however, to employ a quality of wisdom that far exceeds the early kind of wisdom.

The apostle Paul contrasts the wisdom of God and the wisdom of men very graphically in the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians. The summary of his argument is simply this: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). James and Paul agree that God desires for us to enjoy more than mere human wisdom, that He offers us the very wisdom of God! James teaches us three specific things about godly wisdom.

James 1:5-8

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

1^st - We should ask God for wisdom (v. 5)

The instructions are very clear: if we need wisdom, we should ask for it. This asking is based upon recognizing the need for wisdom. We simply will not ask if we do not realize that we have the need. Yet all of us need the wisdom of God! But there are those who do not recognize the need, sin blinds them. They are wise in their own conceits—in the flesh.

Every day, you and I have repeated opportunities to trust in our own wisdom or to ask God for His. We can live in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit; be in the slavery of the darkness of sin or to be set free by the light of Christ Jesus. There is a godly wisdom that can be yours, but only when you come to God recognizing your need for Him and for His wisdom.

How do you get this wisdom? James said “ask of God” (v. 5). God is a giving God – giving to those who ask from Him is natural for God. When you ask, ask for the specific wisdom that you need; the very wisdom which is necessary for you in a particular case. It is proper to take your prayers and petitions before God. God wants you to tell Him your specific wants and needs; ask Him to give you wisdom in every matter. It is one of the privileges of being a Christian; that you may go to God and ask Him for that general wisdom which is needed in your life, and have the assurance that He will guide you.

God gives generously (v. 5). God has no favorites when it comes to recipients of His gifts. He gives generously to all classes, races, and types of people. God gives without adding anything that might take from the graciousness of His gift. Another thing, God always gives enough wisdom, He will not leave you hanging. God’s very character is to give. Love is His motive for giving. In fact, He loved enough to give His very best. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son…” (John 3:16). There is one catch though. No Godly wisdom is given to anyone who doe not seek it. No one should feel that they have a right to hope for the wisdom of God, if they do not value it enough to ask for it

God gives with out finding fault (v. 5). Christian brothers and sisters God does not chastise us for our failures or hold our unworthiness against us. God is always ready to add new blessings to old ones without finding fault in us for our many short comings. It is God’s character to build you up. He does not wish to tear you down. He is the Master Builder. Why not let Him build something special in you – starting today?

So as you have seen in order to receive Godly wisdom you must ask for it. The second thing James teaches us about Godly wisdom is:

2^nd – We Should Ask in Faith, Not Doubting (v. 6-8)

Faith is asking God for wisdom and expecting Him to give it to you. Faith is a complete commitment to God with trusting obedience. You must believe that God is capable of giving you wisdom as you need it and that He will give wisdom to you as you request it from Him. Where there is faith there is not doubt. As Elton Trueblood the author, educator, philosopher, and theologian said, “An empty, meaningless faith may be worse than none.”

Those who do not know Christ Jesus say that we Christians live by blind faith, that is not so. There overwhelming evidence of God all around us, in nature (Romans 1:20) and through out history. So much so, that while we live by faith in Him whom we have not seen, it is not a blind faith. The one who lives by faith has his or her life built upon the solid Rock— Christ Jesus Himself – "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24–25)

Because of this “proven faith” you can endure confident that God will answer your request according to His will. There is no other that can make this claim, so where will you or who will you put your faith in this morning?

No Doubting or double-mindedness allowed. Double-minded – literally “double souled” or one who has two sets of loyalties – one in heaven and one on earth. Doubting here does not mean questioning, confusion, or uncertainty about how to or what to pray for. We have all been there. Doubt here refers to indecision, and to a person who wants to both rely on God and the world or themselves for wisdom. A person who wavers between belief and unbelief. Kind of like the Israelites who seemed to believe in God's power, but leaned towards unbelief by `limiting' it. This is the person, who is not thoroughly persuaded that if they ask of God they will receive their request from Him. They resemble a wave on the sea; they are in a state of continual distress; driven by the wind, and tossed: now rising by hope, then sinking by despair.

Sadly many live with hope on the one hand, and the fear of not obtaining the favor which is desired of God on the other. They want to believe and yet like all “world religions” which are based on works they are not sure they are good enough to receive God’s wisdom

Those who are double-minded should not think that their prayers will be answered. Doubting God is serious business – doubt implies you have a low view of God. To doubt or be double-minded is to say that God can not or will not deliver on His promises. To receive answers from God, you must come to Him with conviction – faith alone opens the door of God’s unlimited treasury of wisdom.

Christian discipleship is based upon being single-minded. Single-minded in your devotion to God. Brothers and Sisters are you being single minded in you devotion to God or are you trying to play both sides?

God will answer those who truly come seeking wisdom and who do so in faith and without doubt.

3^rd – IF You Ask God, You Will Receive Wisdom (v. 5)

The promise is so clear that none of you should miss it. If you ask, it will be given to you. It has always the desire of God to give that which is good to His children. A request according to His will receives an answer – “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

God hears and answers every true prayer. Sometime the answer is yes, sometimes it's no, and sometimes it's wait. There is no such thing as unanswered prayer. However just as a good physician looks out for his patient’s good, sometimes denying what the patient asks. So God does with our pray request, answering “no” or answering “later”.

Conclusion: The bottom line of this important teaching is clear—if you lack wisdom, you must recognize the need; you must ask God Who alone can supply His quality of wisdom, and you will receive it. That is His promise and guarantee to you.

Even more great news for you, it is an unlimited guarantee. You can come to your Father for wisdom as often as necessary. You never need to fall short of what He longs to give you. His wisdom is available all of the time in whatever quantity you need it. And again all you have to do is ask.

1. Where should we seek wisdom?
2. How do you get this wisdom?
3. Faith is asking God for ___________ and expecting Him to __________ it to you.
4. Doubting God is serious business. What does doubt imply?
5. What are the three ways God answers prayer if you pray in earnest?