Verse 6
In Scripture asking in faith always means one of two things. It means either believing God will do what He has promised or, if He has not promised, believing that He can do what the person requesting asks (cf. Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 4:35-41).
"James teaches that faith is the essential condition of prayer." [Note: Adamson, p. 57.]
The NASB translation "without any doubting, for the one who doubts" is unfortunate. The Greek word diakrinomenos, used twice in this verse, is better translated, "let him ask in faith, free from divided motives and divisive attitudes, for such a person is like an ocean wave . . ." [Note: See David DeGraaf, "Some Doubts about Doubt: The New Testament Use of Diakrino," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48:8 (December 2005):741-43. Cf. 2:4.]
Lack of confidence in God’s faithfulness or power manifests a lack of consistency in the believer’s life. James compared the instability that this inconsistency produces to the surf of the sea. Something other than itself drives it. The surf corresponds to the Christian who by not submitting consistently to the will of God is driven by forces outside himself or herself rather than by the Holy Spirit within. The surf (Gr. kludon) may refer to the tops of the waves that the wind blows off (cf. Luke 8:24). The low and high-pressure conditions of life tend to blow us around in a similar fashion.
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