The 
Phases of Faith
Faith is the only way to grow in our relationship with God.
Saturday, May 1, 2004
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Read your Bible more in 2004!
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for being worthy of my worship and praise! Thank You for being worthy of my trust. I pray this day that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I will trust You more and not waver back and forth in anything that I do in Your name. I pray that You will use me to fulfill Your dreams in my life, because no one else can do it. I pray that You will give me the consistent desire and persistence to pray the price, pay the price, risk everything as You lead me and to trust You to see the decisions I make become fulfilled dreams over time. I pray that You will glorify Yourself in my life. May my every moment this day honor You. This I pray in the strong name of Jesus Christ, my risen Savior and Lord. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
James 1:5-8
5If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. 6But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.
Reflecting on God's Word
What role does doubt play in your daily decision-making processes?
What would you do today if You believed that God would fully back Your decision?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
What does James tell us to do if we need wisdom? (1:5)
How does James tell us that God will respond? (1:6-8)
What does James say can stop God from responding? (1:6-8)
Understanding God's Purpose
What do we find out about God’s purpose for our lives from today’s reading?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What is one thing you need to do right now according to today’s Scripture?
Thoughts...Expecting God to Answer...
James’ advice is extremely practical: if you lack wisdom ask God and He’ll give it to you. I read these words when I was about six years old. It was when I was first learning to read. I decided the Bible would be a good book to read, so I read various books in the Bible. Eventually I came to the book of James and read these words, ”If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (Obviously, the New Living Translation was not out in those days!) Those words hit me right between the eyes. In fact, I still remember what I thought when I read those words, “I’m already pretty smart, but I’m sure I could use more wisdom, so I asked God to give me more. I asked God regularly to give me more wisdom, because I knew that there was a lot to know, and that there was a lot that I didn’t know. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that prayer was setting an important tone for my life, because I actually believed that God would answer my prayer. The prerequisite for this particular prayer (and other prayers as well) to be answered is that we must believe that God will answer and not doubt. Trusting God is the key for us to gain wisdom, and it’s also the key for His dreams for us to become realities. If we don’t fully trust God, then when we pray James tells us that we are like a wave that is tossed about by the wind. In other words, we’re unstable, unsure and unable to do anything useful to fulfill the dream. We must trust God before anything will happen in our lives when it comes to faith. After all, faith is nothing more or less than trusting God to be and do what He says He is and does! We must decide to trust God, because it doesn’t come naturally for any of us. Faith is a decision. It’s based on facts. It may bring our emotions along for the ride, but Faith is a decision. Will we follow Jesus or not? Will we do what God asks us to do or not. Billy Sunday used to say “There will always be things in the Bible we don’t understand as long as we’re not willing to do the things we do understand.” Trust in God is the beginning of wisdom and understanding, so let’s decide to trust Him more and we’ll see that our faith and wisdom grow!