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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Faithful
Asking
(James 1:5-8)
by
Karl J. Forehand
this newsletter is sent out
unedited. I know that pains some of
you literary perfectionists; but it creates valuable time for me.
But if any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without
reproach, and it will be given to him.
But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts
is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will
receive anything from the Lord, being a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:2-4)
There is probably nothing
more misunderstood that prayer. There
is nothing we believe in more, but understand less than prayer. How do we misunderstand prayer? One of my pet peeves is when my pastor
friends write and read their prayers.
I never do that with my wife!
I don’t read my thoughts to my friends – I talk to them. We have to understand that prayer is
talking to God.
We also say, like the disciples,
“Lord, teach us to pray.” Why do we
do that? The disciples wanted to pray
more eloquently. They were trying to
be more like the Pharisees, even though the Pharisees prayed some of the most
ungodly prayers (Luke 18:11). I
believe that God, like a parent, says “Just talk to me.”
Prayer is an on-going, all-day
dialog with our heavenly Father. It
is a spirit-controlled, God-directed, Jesus-interceding conversation with our
Heavenly Father. I believe we
shouldn’t say “I will pray for that.”
Rather, we should say “I will make that a part of my prayer life.”
A major part of prayer, that
this passage addresses, is asking.
Often I hear my wife and children whispering in the corner. I know they are scheming over getting ice
cream or going to the movies or something.
Eventually, I hear my wife whisper to them, “Just ask him.” In prayer, we have to ask our heavenly
Father.
What should we ask Him for?
It has been said that
knowledge is the ability to take something apart. However, wisdom is the ability to put them back together. Our primary need is for wisdom. We often do the opposite. We determine the solution before we take it
to God. We should say, “God help me
see the situation correctly. If
necessary, God teach me how to handle this correctly. Then, God show me what to ask for
next.”
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.”
Usually, given enough time, we choose other options besides
wisdom. We know that it is the best
solution, but other options are usually more appealing. God desires that we choose wisdom first.
Why not pray for strength? We
often do that, don’t we? We long for
a supernatural vitamin that will help us handle everything better. We hope for more energy to endure in the
way that WE have determined.
Why not pray for deliverance?
We love foxhole confessions; but the trouble with them is that most
people don’t follow through on their end of the bargain. God removes us from a situation and we
forget to be thankful and faithful.
Often, being removed from the trial removes the benefit OF the trial.
Why not pray for a miracle?
God often does miracles in spite of us. The problem with miracles is that we, like the New Testament
believers, keep wanting more. They
started treating Jesus like a circus freak.
They would say, “Do another one Jesus, impress us some more.”
God will do miracles. God does
deliver. God does give us
strength. But, our primary need is
wisdom. We have to say, “I don’t know
the end result. I need wisdom today
to step correctly in your will.” Our
society has more knowledge than every, yet we are starved for wisdom.
Who do we ask?
My immediate response to that question is, “Well…duh…God!” It sounds simple to ask God; but we often
choose other things initially. We
consult the cooperative experience of our friends. Then, we go to the library of conventional wisdom. After we have a consensus of opinion, we
employ God as a rubber stamp at the end of the process. We think, “Now…if I could just convince
God of my sincerity and my right to this request, I’m in the clear.”
We need to rediscover the counsel of God.
Read along with me in Isaiah 40:
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the
heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And
weighed the mountains in a balance, And the hills in a pair of scales? Who
has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him
in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way
of understanding? To whom then will
you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? Lift up your eyes on high And see who has
created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls
them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of
His power Not one of them is missing.
(Isaiah 40, selected passages)
We know this (knowledge), yet we don’t
understand and apply it (wisdom). Not
only does God have wisdom, He is also willing to give it.
Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy streets she cries
out; At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings: "How long, O naive ones, will you
love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate
knowledge? "Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to
you. (Proverbs 1:20-23)
God not only has it to give, but He also
wants to give it. Wisdom is calling
out, looking for someone to accept it and carry it.
How should we ask?
We must ask, believing and in
faith. What do you believe in? Do you know what you faith is in? Jonathan Whitfield
was preaching to coal miners in England. He asked one man, “What do you
believe?”
“Well, I believe the
same as the church.”
“And what does the
church believe?” “Well, they believe the same as me.”
Seeing he was getting
nowhere, Whitfield said, “And what is it that you both believe?”
“Well, I suppose the
same thing.”
We must understand what we
believe in; but we must also believe it wholeheartedly. Spurgeon said we must have a faith ‘that
swims.” He said, “I
would recommend you either believe God up to the hilt, or else not to believe
at all. Believe this book of God, every letter of it, or else reject it.
There is no logical standing place between the two. Be satisfied with nothing
less than a faith that swims in the deeps of divine revelation; a faith that
paddles about the edge of the water is poor faith at best. It is little
better than a dry-land faith, and is not good for much.”
Most of us don’t doubt that God can, we just doubt that He will. We doubt that He can work through “little
‘ole us.” C.S. Lewis, in A Grief
Observed, expresses “You never know how much you really believe anything
until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death. It is easy
to say you believe a rope to be strong as long as you are merely using it to
cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice.
Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?”
What does God do with my faithful
asking?
First of all, He gives. God is not stingy – He gives
generously. He also gives to all. The blessings of God are not reserved for
a select few. He gives to all. He also gives without reproach. He doesn’t reprimand us for asking. He gives.
Are you still doubting? If you
imagine that God couldn’t save you, I assure you He can. But, you have to ask Him. Are you still doubting that God could work
in your situation? God doesn’t
compare situations for optimal results – He is God. He CAN work in YOUR situation – He specializes in that sort of
thing.
The primary request is for wisdom.
He is willing to give – do you believe?
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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