Doubt and unbelief is double mindedness which pull against our belief or standing in faith - https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-pants-and-woman-in-black-pants-climbing-on-gray-rock-5851830/
[Jas 4:7-8 NKJV] 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will [always, NOT sometimes] flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will [always] draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [you] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [you] double-minded.
[Double-minded people are equated in this passage with sinners, requiring cleansing and purification, that only accepting Jesus’ cleansing sacrifice can provide—see pray tip 2) The Best Prayer You Can Ever Pray. Often double-mindedness is a sin committed unintentionally, because we believe wrong teaching or believe a lie that contradicts God’s Word. Double-mindedness that conflicts with God’s Word results in doubt or unbelief.]
[Jas 1:5-8 NKJV] 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
[This passage here begins with asking for wisdom and by verse 7 is expanded to apply to asking for “anything.” Double-mindedness is not only doubt—see tips 26) We Have THE Measure of Faith, and 27) Believe God Provides Answers to Prayer Like He Provides Salvation By Faith—lying is a form of double-mindedness as well. That is when you know one thing to be true, but say something else. This is why the common Pentecostal teaching of just saying you’re well when you know you’re sick—sometimes called “fake-it-till-you-make-it” faith—is another form of double-mindedness, not to mention a lie. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work very well except when God intervenes with His loving grace. The more we lie, the harder it is for our hearts to believe God’s Word—the Truth—when we speak/pray it. When our body and soul get used to speaking and believing lies, we become de-sensitized, hard-hearted, and deceived, un-able to focus solely on, and believe God’s Truth found in His Word. When we are used to lying, or other forms of double-mindedness like second thoughts or doubts about God’s promises, this passage warns we should not suppose that we will receive anything from the Lord. To of double-mindedness, one should only speak the Truth, especially God’s Word, to the point that God’s Word and promises becomes more real to us than what we are experiencing in the world. Remember the first lie was from Satan, the father of all lies, and it was designed to get us to doubt God’s Word about His command to not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or we will die.]
[Gen 2:17 NKJV] 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die…" [Gen 3:1 NKJV] 1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
[Eve suffered the first case of double-mindedness when she listened to and believed a lie from Satan, questioning God’s Word she likely heard second hand from Adam—"don’t eat of the tree.” Be on your guard when someone ask’s, “is that really what God’s Word says or promises?” Get to know His Word so well that you are equipped to identify what is from His Word and what is falsehood.
A good way to pray that doesn’t involve fake-it-till-you-make-it faith is to praise God for what He has already provided according to His Word, which is His will. It is NOT lying or double-mindedness to praise God in our prayers for what He has already provided thru His Word, including every spiritual blessing before the foundation of the world promised in God’s Word.]
[Eph 1:3-4a NKJV] 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has [already] blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world …
[The Word says we have “every” spiritual blessing since before the foundation of the world.]
[Phm 1:6 NKJV] 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
[When we speak and pray God’s Word like we already have our answer to prayer as stated in His Word, that is a demonstration of single-minded faith in the Word, and not a lie, and its far easier to have single-minded faith and believe for something you already have, than praying and hoping for something you don’t see and you are not sure is God’s will.]
[Mar 9:24 NKJV] 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
[If you are struggling with doubt and unbelief, ask your Creator for help like this father did who’s son needed healing. This passage shows that you can have both belief and unbelief. For more on this see tip 25) Wrong Traditions Causing Unbelief: 7. God Won’t Answer Your Prayer Because You Don’t Have Enough Faith.]
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