Do you “waffle” when you pray? I confess to being a “waffler.”
Sometimes I believe I pray with great confidence. I try to follow every lesson God so lovingly taught me about connecting with Him … and yet … when things don’t turn out as I wish, I start to doubt.
I kinda open one eye, take a quick peek, and if everything is the same, “I think, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. This praying thing doesn’t work.”
However, the very reason “this praying thing” might not work has more to do with us than God.
If there is electricity available and we connect our lamp’s electrical plug with the electrical outlet, we can get the full benefits of the electricity. We can turn on our lamp and get light.
But what happens if we unplug, replug and unplug again? We won’t get much light. If you connect with God, then doubt, try prayer again and then doubt again, then don’t expect to get much light.
James explained how eager God is to help us.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
James 1:5
Many of us begin our prayers, putting what we believe is our wisdom out front. We’ve already thought about our situation and we believe we know what God needs to do to fix everything.
But things would go much differently if we just talked with God about our situation and then we said, “Lord, please show me what You want me to know about this. I want to agree with You.”
We can be confident God is present and He knows The Plans He has for us. We can be sure they are Good Plans to give us a Future and a Hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
We can be sure He will give to us generously from His Vast Knowledge.
We can be sure He will not fault us for having questions. No question is off limits. God knows how much we don’t know.
He will give us His Wisdom so we can agree with Him.
But James is very blunt about what happens when we “waffle.”
“But, when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
“That person should not expect to receive anything from The Lord.”
James 1:6-7
When we ask God and He tells us something, we cannot go, “Well, that’s not The Answer I wanted. Try again, God.”
We will receive nothing, because we have chosen to remove ourselves from The Flow of God’s Power.
Jesus wanted to heal everyone. He wanted to usher everyone into The Kingdom, where they could witness what they would call miracles. But when He encountered those who refused to believe, He did not force Himself on them.
Mark records He “could not” do many miracles where there was unbelief.
“He could not do any miracles there, except lay His Hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Mark 6:5-6
What do we need to do to connect with God?
Believe He is God.
Believe He has the Ultimate Plan for our lives and that He is continuing His Work of Creation in us and through us.
Ask Him to reveal His Will to you. Agree with Him. Don’t doubt!
“Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6
“If you remain in Me and My Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”
John 15:7
