The Praying Christian – Part 4

The Double Souled Man

“But let him ask in faith doubting nothing, for he who doubts is like a surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man suppose that he will receive anything from the lord: HE IS A DOUBLE-SOULED MAN; UNSTABLE IN ALL HIS WAYS”. – James 1:6-8 [Witness Lee Translation]

A True Thought: If there is no faith in your asking you will not receive anything!

These few verses shook my prayer life many years ago because I asked but did not receive answers to my prayers. When I read this, it changed my way of thinking and praying. And helped me to receive correctly. I remember praying at my bedside about a situation and was praying generally. The Lord stopped me and said, “Specific prayers prayed will get specific answers.”

When you pray be specific as I was asking about my car; it had to be a 4×4 with the latest equipment, I wanted big side mirrors, and I wanted to sit up high. I received exceedingly abundantly! It came with a reversing camera, and side mirrors with cameras so that when I go off-roading, I can see what’s on either side of the car. It has all the bells and whistles you will need to travel in the bush. My Father did exceedingly far over and above! And every time I climb in my 4×4, I am truly grateful of God’s goodness and provision in asking specifically. I believed I received in faith asking, not doubting.

When you ask it must be empowered by confident faith. You cannot believe one moment and then doubt the next like a rough sea going up and down where the waves and wind take you. You will receive nothing because it is faith that moves the mountain. Through your constant fellowship (abiding in His Word and His Word abiding in you) and meditating constantly on the Word creates stability of faith.

When you ask you have, and you’re asking according to His will, which releases the faith to receive the desired result. Confidence in the Word gives the assurance it has been granted—believing HE IS! Asking is a very interesting word, it means to seek the face (the scripture must speak to me first), to demand (seeking the face of that promise), to ask with determination (hunger for it to manifest). Before I ask, I must see the desired result with the eyes of my heart flooded with illimitation. Meaning, I must see it first before I ask. I must have substance in my heart before I ask, and faith is the substance.

How do I get substance in my heart to increase my faith? Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing, and hearing the anointed life-giving word, like eating from the tree of life! When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He walked past it a few times and saw that it had leaves from a far and when it needed to produce fruit for His desired need, it did not. The fig tree was supposed to produce figs. It all looked good but did not produce the desired result or fruit.

Mark 11: 24 gives us the answer: “Therefore I say unto you, what things you desire when you pray, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.” Jesus desired figs, the tree had all the markings that it could produce figs, but when He came to examine the tree, that which He desired did not manifest. He believed that the tree was producing fruit, He believed it, He saw the fruit in the eyes of His understanding and had faith to receive. He created that fig tree to produce fruit. He did not doubt nor was He hesitant to go to the fig tree to see fruit. His faith created the figs, and He went to receive from the authority of His owns words, the fig tree did not produce the fruit it was created to produce.

Jesus cursed that specific fig tree and said unto the tree, no man eat fruit from you. Jesus is using the fig tree as an example for us that our season to produce fruit is constant. The faith He has given us is a constant fruit-bearing tree because faith is always NOW! If it is not now it is not faith. When Jesus went to the fig tree, it basically said to Jesus, “I am green, I have leaves. Sorry, Jesus it’s not my time to produce the figs.”

“If you abide in My words and words have made a home in you, my Father is glorified, and you shall bear forth much fruit!” – John 15:7

What fruit is He talking about? He is talking about prayer fruit! Jesus is saying faith is birthed by revelation of the Word through prayer that brings a harvest of removing your mountain!

What does it mean to doubt? It is to decide to believe a lie, a feeling, an emotion, a reasoning, a wrong thought, a wrong belief system above the truth of the Word of God. Meaning, I know I must do God’s Word, but I make a choice to do and believe something else. I become a vacillating mind; I choose the easy road, the one that makes me comfortable to compromise. Because I have no conviction of heart to deal with issues, I release a scattered mind. I have no direction or purpose to fulfil or to follow my conviction.

The ten spies chose the evil report of the giants in the land that they already overcame because they had a promise and God said possess the land. Joshua and Caleb decided to choose to SAY [faith] we are well able and that He has given to us a land that will produce such great harvest, it will make our enemies jealous of God’s Blessing! When Thomas said, “Jesus I will only believe when I see the marks in Your hands.” Jesus said, “Blessed are they which have not seen!” He doubted but later repented!

You cannot stagger like a wave. You have to be moved by faith not by feelings or emotions or other people’s options that want to mess up your thinking! Abraham did not stagger at the promises of God but was fully persuaded that which God said as so. He was empowered by faith, giving Glory to God. He had a heart of faith to believe, not a mental agreement!

Another word for doubt is to be double-minded or doubled-souled. A doubled-minded person in his asking is like a boat with two rudders, unstable in his direction. One rudder turns against the other rudder and there is no purpose or stability. You think something but say the opposite, there is no agreement between your heart and your mind – you are unstable IN ALL YOUR WAYS! It means you are hesitant in your asking. One day you are so sure God heard you, the next day circumstances do not go your way and you begin to speak faithless words.

You have confidence and then suddenly you turn around and say I do not believe that. You cannot speak out of two minds, or you will receive NOTHING! Speaking doubt resists the very fibre of faith and that all things are possible to him that believes what the Word says. God had to wait for a whole generation to be removed before they could go into the promised land because they would stop Gods ability of performing His covenant! God is looking for believers not doubters. So, when we ask, we must ask in faith and when we ask, we must not have any doubt because we will not receive anything because we are unstable, tossed with every wave and wind. I call them yo-yo Christians; constantly up and down. Have you had people make you promises they never fulfil? They say things but never follow through.

What is the answer to doubt? Firstly, build a strong foundation of faith, holding fast to your confession of saying what the Word says who you are, what you have, and what you can do. If you cannot live in victory in your own prayer walk, it means you are thinking wrong, speaking wrong, and believing wrong. What is the answer? FAITH! It speaks, it thinks and believes only in line with the Word that gives you integrity and confidence.

Single-mindedness comes from meditation and having a renewed mind on the answer and focusing only on what the Word says. That will help you to make a quality decision that you will not back off from. You will stand your ground and only say what the Word says! That is why we have the mind of Christ to instruct and guide us!

Speak this over your life and say by faith:

I loose doubt from my mind, and everything associated with doubt—its effect and influence—I command it to go and be loosed from my mind!

Now say by faith:

I bind my mind to the MIND OF CHRIST, and everything associated with Christ and His plans, purposes, and thoughts. I am single-minded and I make a quality decision I choose the MIND OF CHRIST that saturates my mind and my spirit, making my heart and mind one with His thoughts, intents, and purposes!

Now believe it, speak and it receive it. And boldly say IT IS MINE!

For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: For as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he: for he is like one who is inwardly calculating, for as he reasons in his heart, so is he! For as he hath thoughts in his soul, so is he. For what they’re thinking inside is what they really are – Proverbs 23:7

Thoughts to ponder:  Heb. 10:23, Jos. 1:8, Phil.4:6-8, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 4:23, 29-31.