Ministry of Grace Church

For do not let that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord;

Truth to Learn

God loves us more than any earthly father and wants to give us good things. Answers to our prayers are gifts from our Heavenly Father but they must be sought with complete faith.

Behind the Words

The word “let” is an often misunderstood word in the Bible. In most of its uses, as in this case, it has nothing to do with permission or allowing something to happen. Instead, it is used in the command form of a verb, in this case the command form of “suppose.”

This word translated “suppose” is oiomai, which means “to suppose, to be of an opinion or to think.” As indicated by the word “let,” James wrote this in the imperative mood indicating that it is a command. Hence, this verse could be expressed this way: “That particular man must not be of the opinion that he shall receive anything from the Lord.”

The expression “that man” is from the Greek ho anthrōpos ekeinos. The words ho anthrōpos mean “the man.” The word ekeinos means “that one.” The particular word order here is what is known as the emphatic use of ekeinos. In other words it means “especially that particular man,” the one who doubts regarding his prayers.

Meaning Explained

James will tell us later in this chapter that:

Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17)

Answered prayer is a gift from God, but one of the keys to answered prayers is faith. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus taught His disciples:

Or what man is there of you, if his son should ask for bread, will give him a stone? And if he should ask for a fish, will he give him a snake? Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11)

But James is very clear that if we come to God without faith or with an unsteady faith then we should not expect God to answer, even though He wants to give us good things. The writer of Hebrews put it this way:

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for it is necessary that he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Notice here that He rewards those who diligently seek Him, not those who diligently seek an answer. Our focus needs to be on Him and His glory. If we pray selfishly or if we really don’t believe that God will answer our prayer, then He won’t.

Application

Let us go to our Heavenly Father seeking praise for Him and the best for His kingdom, believing that He will reward those who diligently seek him! But let us not waver in our belief that He will answer. After all, He wants to give us the gift of an answered prayer.