James 1:

6 But let him ask in faith, without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Many believe this to mean that whenever we ask for anything, we must not doubt. If we do, we won’t get what we ask for. If we don’t get what we ask for, it’s our fault. We doubted. This is a very general concept placed on a very specific thing.

These verses are speaking specifically of asking God for wisdom. If we ask, God gives generously and ungrudgingly. It’s God’s will that we have Godly wisdom. These verses, however, do not mean that we can ask God for whatever we want and we will get it as long as we don’t doubt. This theology has caused a stumbling block for many.

When my mom was 12 years old, she developed scoliosis (curvature of the spine). As she grew older, her condition became more severe. She was treated with casts and braces to no avail. It wasn’t until she was married and had three kids that she underwent surgery to correct the curve. While the doctor was able to decrease the curve some, complete correction was impossible. Mom continued to deal with the pain, sick spells, and limitations of the spine that wouldn’t straighten.

At the age of 71, Mom’s health worsened and she was placed in Hospice care. One night, during her last week with us, I was staying at my parent’s home. Mom was puttering around the house then sat down in the living room with me. She began to tell me that she didn’t understand why this was happening. She had believed for some time that she was not going to die. “Death is the enemy and Jesus conquered sin and death,” she said.

That night, she was struggling because she believed that due to her lack of faith, she was going to die. It was her fault. I shared with her that I believed the death spoken of in the scriptures is spiritual death, not physical death. Paul died. Peter died. They were Godly men. But had they lived, they’d be over 2,000 years old. We talked for quite a while, and she seemed to have new perspective. The next morning, she thanked me and said she felt better about it.

A doubting person in these verses is also called a “double-minded” man. “Double-minded is literally two souls. If one part of a person is set on God and the other is set on this world (Matt. 6:24) there will be constant conflict within.”[1] We must be whole-heartedly set on God and His will for our lives. We must seek Godly wisdom. James addresses this further later in his book.

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[1] Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary, 1663