James 1:5-8 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth (reprimands) not; and it shall be given him.
–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 1:8 (AMPC) [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
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An example I read* awhile back talked about a minister who was holding a week-long meeting at a church. While he was waiting to teach, the service was interrupted by a woman who stood up asked the congregation to pray for her neighbor.
The neighbor was sick. The doctor said she would not live past midnight. It was 8:00 pm. at the time. The congregation stood up and prayed for the neighbor’s healing.
The pastor of the church asked how many believed that God had heard their prayer. Most of the congregation raised their hands.
The next evening at the meeting, the same woman stood up and said the doctor said her neighbor was, “past the crisis. Get her out of bed and let her sit in a chair for 2-3 times a day. She’s going to make it”.
God had supernaturally healed the neighbor. But the woman stood up again, stated her neighbor was still “terribly weak” (Of course she was, she’d been bedfast). She said, “We know God touched her BUT let’s pray again and ask God to complete the work”. The pastor agreed and said, “Let’s stand up and pray for her again.”
The visiting minister said God immediately spoke to him and said, “Now they’ve taken her out of My hands and she’s going to die within 3 days.” She did. Why?
They’d prayed the night before and agreed God had heard them, placing her in God’s hands. The next night, instead of agreeing she was healed and thanking God for it, they took her out of God’s hands.
By praying again, they became double minded. They were not confident God had completed her healing the night before. They did not trust His Word.
Christians do this all the time. We pray for healing (or anything else) and when God doesn’t do it in OUR timing, we think He didn’t do anything. We pray and ask again.
I used to make this mistake – which explained why I had a relatively long term health issue until recently (yeah, yeah, I was slow understanding).
Once I “saw” what I was doing wrong (repeated “asking” prayers), I repented and “received my healing” once and for all. I just thanked Him for it after that and believed I was healed – no matter what it looked like.
The issue actually disappeared within a couple of days. It’s still gone. If I think about it, I just thank God that He healed me.
Don’t waver. Don’t be double minded. Trust God and stick to your guns. Stick to what the Word says. Know and Believe God’s promises.
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*Excerpt: Health Food Devotions, Kenneth E Hagin