I recently communicated with a friend regarding a situation she is praying about, a big life event decision. Here is our correspondence:

Me

One thing comes to mind regarding your prayer request:

This from James: “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. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Do not doubt that you’ll know the will of God; He’ll let you know when you need to know. James also said, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

This helps me: rather than trying to decide on which path to take, I aim to discern God’s will and then decide to be obedient. There is much freedom in this way of knowing which path to take.

Don’t be afraid to let go of something fruitful in order to be able to hold something even more valuable.

My friend

Thank you soooo much for this encouragement.  This is super helpful and really gives me a focus in my prayer.  Now that I think about it, I do feel like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  Now to learn how not to doubt!  I’ll be in prayer the next few days; thanks so much for providing some encouragement and scripture to help and guide the process!

Me

You’re welcome. It took me quite a few years to learn not to doubt. The key for me was realizing that I had been putting my faith in my weak ability to hear rather than in God’s ability to speak clearly. My faith was in myself, not in Him. He knows how to break through my weaknesses. Now I put my faith in Him and His promises, not in my abilities.

My friend

Oh that helps A LOT.  I’ve never looked at it that way before.  In fact, I have always really doubted my ability to hear the Lord, which affects my prayer life, in general – not just when I have a specific area that I need direction in.  Thanks again for this shift of perspective!