Effective Praying

Effective Praying

“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 1.6-8 

Should we take the statement “…let him ask in faith…” as a standalone verse, we could possibly come to a conclusion that God is something of a genie in a bottle and that so long as we have enough faith, and rub the bottle in the right direction, we can “…ask what we will, and it shall be done….” The ones holding to this false theology suggest that anyone can be healed of crippling diseases if they pray with enough faith. And, in order to bolster that faith, we might need to call two or three fellow believers to “agree together” in order to bring about God’s approval.

Not only must Scripture be compared to Scripture, but it must not be taken out of its context. A statement that has become standard among true Bible students is: “A text taken out of context is nothing more than a pretext.” The Bible should seldom become a spiritual smorgasbord. I say “seldom” because it seems that toward the end of the book of the Proverbs, when reading the Proverbs, we gain much insight and are afforded short pithy statements upon which we can meditate. However, even within that context, all of the Proverbs are preceded by an attempt by the author to explain how to gain wisdom and apply the truths contained therein.

Nowhere in the Scriptures is there a blanket promise to answer every prayer. As a matter of fact, there are stipulations specified when we do pray. In the John 15.7 passage, we must read the entire verse: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” The stipulation placed upon these prayers to be answered speaks specifically of having a close personal relationship with the Savior – “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you….” The Matthew 18.19 passage speaks little of prayer because the context is one that gives biblical instructions on how to repair broken relationships due to a brother wronging another brother.

Here, James qualifies his statement about asking in faith in the previous verse. The prayer is one in which he is asking for wisdom which comes through spiritual maturity. There is a way to have every one of our prayers answered – that is to always ask for what God wants. That is what our Savior did. And, when He was overcome with the pain He was to endure, Jesus prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22.42)

The words “wavering” and “wavereth” translate the Greek word “diakrínō” which means to discriminate or to discern clearly – to be able to make a carefully thought through decision without jumping to a conclusion. When decisions are based upon human reasoning or personal emotions, they are most certainly going to cause vacillation within the heart of the petitioner. He will simply not know which way to turn and his prayer will become futile. Those prayers will resemble the uncontrollable ocean surge which has neither direction nor purpose.

Interestingly enough, the word translated “driven” means to be driven to agitation. Certainly the person who seems to never connect with God by having prayers answered will be agitated and will possibly fall into despair. This person, the Scriptures say, will never be satisfied by receiving any request from the Lord because his petitions are not founded upon a personal relationship with his Savior.

The man who cannot establish himself with that personal relationship built upon God given wisdom, will also be unstable (akatástatos – unsteady, fickle, staggering, reeling like a drunken man) in his other paths of life. Without wisdom, he is on his own and unable to make good decisions – including praying for a right outcome.