The Habit of Doubt is a Hindrance to Prayer

IV. The habit of doubt is a hindrance to prayer.

"He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven of the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." This is strong language, but there is no doubt that the sin of unbelief, according to the divine standpoint, is the most hurtful of all spiritual conditions. It destroys the very contact of the soul with God as effectually as the cutting of that telegraph wire would prevent the transmission of a message. We have already seen that the word receive in this passage of James means take, and that it denotes, not so much God's anger with the unbelief, for He does "give liberally and upbraideth not," to all men, but it refers to the inability of the man to take what God gives. His doubt shuts up his whole spiritual sensibilities and capacities and renders him incapable of absorbing and appropriating the blessing which is offered him at the time. God holds us responsible for our doubt, but does not require us to produce, by our own will, the faith which brings us into contact with His love and blessing, for this is His impartation; but He does require us to prevent it from running out, as from leaking vessels, through all the openings of our miserable doubts. There is one thing that we can all do; we can refuse to doubt; we can refuse to entertain the questioning and fear, the morbid apprehension and subtle Satanic insinuation; and if we do this, God will do the rest and enable us to stand fast in faith, and press forward to the fulness of His blessing.

This is where the enemy concentrates his strongest attacks, waiting when the hour of trial comes, and our prayer seems to be refused and delayed, and hurling all his shafts of fire and evil suggestion into our trembling hearts to try to drive us from our confidence and get us to betray our own cause by consenting to his wicked questionings. Therefore Christ has said, "Whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, he shall have whatsoever he saith." So "Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith giving glory to God." So we are to hold fast the faith we have professed without wavering, for, "He is faithful that promised." "Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul hath no pleasure in him." God waits to give His blessing to the solders who stand their ground, and who, when the blessing comes, are there to claim it.

But, "Alas!" perhaps you say, "I have already doubted, and forfeited my blessing. Is it then too late to receive the answer?" No, if you will repent of your doubt as you would of any other sin, and immediately bring forth fruits meet for repentance by refusing from henceforth and for evermore to be betrayed into the same sin. Often we shall find that such a fall becomes the occasion of thoroughly convincing us of the sin of doubting, and curing us of it forever.

Beloved, have you been trifling with God in this matter of prayer and defrauding yourself of the blessings for which you have already suffered so much? May the Lord set your face this day like a flint, and fix your feet on the rock and stay your soul upon God!- A.B. Simpson, The Life of Prayer, chapter 5, section IV

I've linked to various versions of A.B. Simpson's The Life of Prayer HERE






 

Did Jesus Speak Multiple Languages?

Honestly, I find it completely implausible the assumption of many scholars that Jesus taught almost entirely in Aramaic and/or Hebrew. Why would He do that given the fact that the lingua franca at the time was Koine Greek? Being a carpenter [possibly like a contractor], Jesus probably had to do business in multiple languages. According to Luke He knew God the Father had a special calling on Him from youth, and so it's likely He would intentionally learn various languages to be a better communicator in the future. For the sake of safety and general prudence, it would have been wise for any Jew to learn Greek and Latin because the occupying government (Rome) spoke both languages. It's always a good idea to be able to speak the language the authorities speak in order to defend/protect oneself. Especially since there are always some authorities who are corrupt.

Joseph's travels with his family to Egypt and Bethlehem were probably via caravan. People in those caravans likely spoke Greek and Latin to get from place to place. Why would it be implausible that Joseph would be among them, or that he [as a Jew!] would teach his children the importance of education and languages? Many cultures that are polylingual often switch smoothly from language to language in order to better express their meaning, all in a single conversation. I don't see why Jesus couldn't have done the same thing. If Jesus really is the Logos [i.e. reason and word] of God, then it would make sense that He would have had a natural gift for acquiring and mastering languages. Besides that, He grew up in a situation that would encourage it.

William Barclay wrote in chapter 2 of his book The Mind of Jesus the following:

QUOTE

//Throughout the silent years Jesus was learning to dream. Nazareth itself is tucked away in a hollow of the hills, a secluded little town. But the extraordinary thing about Nazareth was that the world passed almost by its door. It has been said that Judaea was on the way to nowhere and Galilee was on the way to everywhere, for the great roads of the East passed through Galilee. Jesus had only to climb the hilltop above the cup-like hollow of Nazareth and the passing world was at his feet. From there he could look down on the great Road of the Sea, the road which went from Damascus to Egypt, one of the greatest highways in the world with its merchantmen and its caravans. From there he could see the strategic Road of the East which went out from the Mediterranean coast to Parthia and to the eastern bounds of the Roman Empire with its Arab traders and its Roman legions clanking on their way. From there, if he looked westwards, he could see the blue waters of the Mediterranean, with the sails of the ships and the cargoes of those who do business in great waters.

So Jesus could climb the hilltop behind Nazareth, and from there he could see the roads coming and going to the ends of the earth. It was there that he must have dreamed his dreams, and it may be that it was there that something first said to him: 'I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself' (John 12:32).//
END QUOTE [bold added by me - AP]

F.F. Bruce wrote in chapter 4 of his The New Testament Documents: Are they Reliable?:

QUOTE

//Another interesting fact which comes to light when we try to reconstruct the original Aramaic in which our Lord's sayings in all the Gospels were spoken is that very many of these sayings exhibit poetical features. Even in a translation we can see how full they are of parallelism, which is so constant a mark of Old Testament poetry. When they are turned into Aramaic, however, they are seen to be marked by regular poetical rhythm, and even, at times, rhyme. This has been demonstrated in particular by the late Professor C. F. Burney in The Poetry of our Lord (1925). A discourse that follows a recognisable pattern is more easily memorised, and if Jesus wished His teaching to be memorised His use of poetry is easily explained. Besides, Jesus was recognised by His contemporaries as a prophet, and prophets in Old Testament days were accustomed to utter their oracles in poetical form. Where this form has been preserved, we have a further assurance that His teaching has been handed down to us as it was originally given.//
END QUOTE

Seeing that Jesus used poetry, rhyme and puns in Aramaic, why would Jesus pass up opportunities of making clever puns or play on words in Greek as in the case of John 3? I don't see why He couldn't or wouldn't do so. We know that the conversation in John 3 with Nicodemus occurred under the cover of night (John 3:2). Likely because he was trying to avoid people finding out that he wanted to talk to Jesus. He was after all a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. He might have spoken to Jesus in Greek in order to try to maintain his anonymity, lest prying ears recognize his voice in Aramaic. While Jesus may have accommodated him by responding in Greek as well. So, the claim by some scholars that the conversation with Nicodemus couldn't have been historical because it only works in Greek doesn't necessarily follow. Lydia McGrew reminded me that Nicodemus is a Greek name and that might have some significance as to whether the conversation was in Greek.

See this fascinating lecture by D. Peter J. Williams where he presents a cumulative case for why it's likely Jesus (at times) publicly taught in Koine Greek:

"The Surprising Language of Jesus" by Peter J. Williams
https://youtu.be/wsx4r_1pigY

Did Jesus Speak Greek

by InspiringPhilosophy/Michael Jones

https://youtu.be/V1zVI5wuM8g?si=o5SC3dWMogamTnSG

Did Jesus Speak Greek? by Wesley Huff



See also my blogpost: Was Jesus Literate?

Also:

 It's Greek to me by Steve Hays

Did Jesus Ever Teach in Greek? by Stanley E. Porter

Jesus and the Use of Greek: A Response to Maurice Casey by Stanley E. Porter

The Use of Greek in First-Century Palestine: A Diachronic and Syncrhronic Examination by Stanley E. Porter

Peter, Greek, and Ehrman


 

Distinguishing Mark of a True Child of God and Mere Professors of Faith

Again, saving faith is always found in a tender heart. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26). An unregenerate heart is hard as stone, full of pride and presumption. It is quite unmoved by the sufferings of Christ, in the sense that they act as no deterrent against self-will and self-pleasing. But the real Christian is moved by the love of Christ, and says, How can I sin against His dying love for me. When overtaken by a fault, there is passionate relenting and bitter mourning. Oh, my reader, do you know what it is to be melted before God, for you to be heart-broken with anguish over sinning against and grieving such a Saviour? Ah, it is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors.- A.W. Pink

The above quote is found in two of Pink's works.

- Practical Christianity, Part 1: The Christian’s Beginning, Chapter 1-Saving Faith

- STUDIES ON SAVING FAITH, part II, 5. Its Evidences