Ask in Faith and Do Not Doubt

God the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and mankind allowed man to record the Bible so that His will and providence would be made known to all. At all times, God also shows Himself to those who believe in and obey His Word, and proves to us that He is alive and almighty through manifestations of miraculous signs and wonders.

We can believe in the living God merely by looking at the creation (Romans 1:20) and give glory to God by receiving His answers with our prayer accompanied by our faith in Him.

There are “fleshly faith” by which we can believe because our knowledge or thought is congruent with God’s Word and “spiritual faith,” the kind of faith by which we can receive His answers. While what the Word of God tells us is implausible when measured against man’s knowledge and thought, when we ask Him by faith in Him, God gives us faith and a sense of certainty. These elements crystallize into an answer and this is spiritual faith.

Therefore, James 1:6-8 tell us, “But he must 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 that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Doubting originates from man’s knowledge, thought, arguments, and pretension, and is brought to us by the enemy devil. A doubting heart is double-minded and cunning, and God detests it the most. How tragic would it be if your children could not believe but instead doubted whether you were their biological father or mother? By the same token, how could God answer the prayers of His children if they are unable to believe Him to be their Father, although He bore and nurtured them?

We are thus reminded that “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8), and urged to “destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

When our faith is transformed into spiritual faith and we do not doubt even a bit, God is thoroughly pleased and will give us anything for which we ask. When neither Moses nor Joshua doubted but only acted by faith, they could part the Red Sea, cross the Jordan River, and destroy the walls of Jericho. In the same manner, when you say to a mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea” and do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you.

Suppose you said to Mount Everest, “Go throw yourself into the Indian Ocean.” Would you receive the answer to your prayer? It is self-evident that a global chaos will follow if Mount Everest were actually thrown into the Indian Ocean. For this could not be and is not God’s will, such prayer will go unanswered no matter how much you pray because He will not give you spiritual faith by which you can believe in Him.

If you are praying to accomplish something that is against God’s will, the kind of faith by which you can believe in your heart will not come to you. You may believe at first your prayer may be answered but as time passes, doubts will begin to grow. Only when we pray and ask in accordance with the will of God without doubting even a little do we receive His answers. Therefore, if your prayer has not yet been answered, you must realize that it is because you have asked for something that stands against the will of God or that you are at fault for doubting or having doubted His Word.

1 John 3:21-22 remind us, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”

People obeying God’s commands and doing what pleases Him do not ask for things running counter to God’s will. We can receive anything we ask as long as our prayer is in accordance with His will. God tells us, “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

Therefore, in order to receive God’s answers, you must receive first from Him the spiritual faith which He gives you when you act and live by His Word. As you destroy all the arguments and speculations raised up against the knowledge of God, the doubts will disappear and you will come to possess spiritual faith, thereby receiving anything you ask.

Pastor Emeritus Dr. Jaerock Lee