Consider it pure joy. What a statement.  Consider our trials and tribulations as pure joy is asking a lot especially when you’re going through something.

It’s interesting how the Lord and His timing are always perfect. Through my devotions, I came across this passage of scripture in James and felt that in light of the things that some of us may be going through and also the things that we faced from day-to-day in our lives this scripture is fitting.

Right off the bat if you’re going through trials and tribulations and someone tells you to count it as pure joy it’s not only going to make you angry. And you’re going to look at them like they’re crazy.

There are a few things to really consider In this passage of scripture in relation to our relationship to Jesus Christ and our faith in the cross.

It seems that the cross has been the center of our conversation more so lately than other times. The truth is that it should always be the center of our conversation and the center of our faith.

What’s Holding You Back in Your Faith?

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 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.

6 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.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:2-8

Prayer is Based on Faith

When we pray it’s important that we do so with faith and certainty. There is an uncertainty that often creeps into our prayer.

This sense of Unknowing and uncertainty that God is hearing in our prayer that often starts with an inaccurate perspective of God.

Oftentimes when we pray with this perspective of uncertainty it’s easy to fall into the mindset or thought that God isn’t with us or that he isn’t interested in our needs and concerns.

Here is the faith Factor.  When it comes to prayer and coming before the Lord we must do so with faith, be certain of what we hope for and sure of what we cannot see.

It’s important to realize that he is intimately interested in our concerns and needs in our life. He invites us to come to him, before the throne of grace, because it is our Father’s delight in providing for us.

I get asked often why should I pray if God already knows my needs? And the answer to this is really quite simple.

You first need to know that God delights and meeting your needs. And while he knows what you need before you ask he waits upon you to come to him in prayer and ask in faith.

Hindrances In Asking In Faith

There are countless things that will come up and become roadblocks in our faith and asking God for things in prayer.

A lack of faith can be the Cornerstone of our difficulties in prayer but there are many things that lead up to causing a lack of faith. When we ask God for something in prayer in Jesus name the idea that we are not praying in his will or we are uncertain of it can cause you to ask in a way that is not certain.

It is always important to ask God In Prayer according to his will and purpose.

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 John 5:14-15

Not knowing God’s will for your life in the certain circumstances that you may be facing is one obstacle.

But He answers our prayers when our petitions are in agreement with his purpose and will. Anything that we ask we know that we will have it.

When we come to God with repentant hearts Desiring to know his heart and we asked him for wisdom we know that he will give us what we ask. And when we ask for wisdom this directs us closer to Him in His will.

His word tells us that he will give us wisdom liberally which means he will not hold it back.

Even if we’re not able to find a specific answer in God’s word to our situation it’s important to always ask the Lord to fill us with the knowledge of His will and to give us all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

The important thing to remember here is that we don’t stop asking and coming before the Lord in prayer.

9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:9-10

What Motivates You In Your Prayer Life

Probably the biggest thing that gets in the way of prayer is selfishness. And how selfishness is defined is often quite different across the board.

People often think that if they pray for them self that this is selfish. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that you should never pray for yourself. I want to say that that is a huge error in thinking especially when we’re coming before the Lord in our times of need.

In John 17:1-17  Jesus starts by praying for Himself to the Father. Secondly, Jesus prays for his disciples and then finishes by praying for the world.

Using Jesus example here we see that it is absolutely appropriate to pray for yourself. It’s also important to realize and a note that Jesus prayed according to the Father’s will when He prayed for Himself.

How did Jesus know the father’s will? Jesus always sought to be in his Father’s presence.

Selfish motives are when we pray for something and it is all about us. When we pray for things and material things of the world and it benefits nobody but the personal selfish desires that live inside a person.

When a person prays for something in a selfish way it often is for something that is temporary and will be squandered and have no lasting effect in the Kingdom or a person’s life. It is something that is asked for out of pure pleasure.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:3

Sometimes people are more concerned about getting God to be their Butler than they are their Savior and God. They come before God with a list of wants and desires and not needs.

Our greatest need as a Christian is to be in the relationship Jesus died to make a way for and to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

You can search your heart and ask the simple question is this a desire I want or is this a need. It’s important also to always ask how is this going to bring glory to God.

Wavering Faith Is Like The Ocean Waves

There was a show that used to come on for many seasons called The Deadliest Catch. It was a show that portrayed the life of crab fisherman out in the Rough Waters around Alaska and the Bering Strait.

Of course, crab season wasn’t during the summer months when the waters were calm instead it was during the winter months when the waters were the most turbulent.

These fishermen were willing to brave these cold conditions in rough seas. I enjoyed watching this TV show for a short time until they all started to look the same.

James tells us in verse 6 that when you ask you must believe. And that you should not and by no means doubt or have a lack of faith. James Compares this person who has a wavering faith like the waves of the sea blown and tossed by the wind.

When I read that verse I often think of the turbulent ocean and waves in that TV series “The Deadliest Catch”.

There is another analogy that we can draw from that TV show and that is that life is often like the storms that those fishermen encountered when they were out at sea. They approached their job with certainty and when they were in the thick of the storm they kept their heads up and didn’t have doubt any doubt they were going to make it through.

Having a wavering faith and doubt will keep us from experiencing an answer to our prayer. Having a lack of faith in feeling or thinking that God cannot answer our prayers and giving him a way out in prayer it’s also a way to not have an answer to our prayer.

I’ve heard people pray many times in their prayer “Lord if it is your will” and you can hear by the tone of their voice that it is a statement of a lack of belief and faith, not a real question of if it God’s will, but rather a statement that they don’t believe God can really do what they are asking.

I want to encourage you as James does here to pray in faith and not doubt. Allowing thoughts of uncertainty and doubt are the direct opposite of strong faith.

These thoughts are intruders and enemies of our faith in prayer. Doubts in lack of faith can originate by listening to these voices in our head and of other people and not being firm in God’s word.

When we talk about praying in faith it is important to focus on the power of God and not the difficulty of the situation. It’s also important to focus on the wisdom and the faithfulness of the Lord.

He promises that he will neither leave nor forsake us but will always be by your side. We have to embrace that statement in faith and not forget that even in the darkest and quiet moments of our life the Lord is with us.

A Call To Be Effective In Prayer

Effective prayer and being a strong prayer Warrior starts with an awareness of God and His ways. The best way to know this is my spending time in his word, in prayer, and waiting on God to hear His voice.

When anything is contrary to God’s we will know it, and we know this by getting to know him intimately, we will bring these thoughts captive to the Lord.

Whenever we allow thoughts of anything other than Faith and Hope when asking the Lord to come in, it delays a response from the Lord. And not unlike waiting for us to come to Him in prayer He waits for us to come to Him in unwavering and faithful prayer.

When we come to the Lord in prayer motivated by a desire to glorify Him and we acknowledge His power and Glory our doubts will vanish.

Stop and pray right now and do so in faith and certainty that God has this.