The letter of James was written to Jewish Christians of his day and is probably the most practical book in the Bible. We are not sure of exactly which James this is, but it is widely believed that he was the brother of Jesus.

James presents quite a paradox of doctrine in that he promotes salvation through faith and not works. But he preaches strongly on the principle that faith without works is not real. In other words; if you're saved, you're going to do what God expects you to do; not works that save but works to prove our salvation is not mere lip service.

Today, we'll focus on James' strong urge to us to pray, believe and trust. To do anything else makes us look more like a person who does not know the Lord, than one who does. In verse five, he lists the first step of finding help for the child of God.

The first step is to ask God. Step two is a natural progression in that a Christian must believe God can and will answer their prayer if they approach Him in the right manner. Verse six contains the third step in our progression: trust God to do what needs to be done. It's as easy as one, two and three: ask, believe and trust.

James' teaching is necessary for those who are going through great trials, something also called, testing. While testing develops our perseverance, its primary purpose is to point us to God where we use prayer to approach Him. Journalists use five "friends" to develop a story: Who, What, When, Where and Why. It appears James uses those same friends to teach us all we need to know about enduring hard times.

WHO: Brothers, or Christians;
WHAT: Persevere;
WHEN: You're in trouble and needing help;
WHERE: Go to God and pray, believing and not doubting and
WHY: He will meet your need.

If I wrote such a letter to you, it would go like this: My fellow brothers in the Lord, persevere to the end. Here's how: when you're in trouble and need help, pray and ask God for help, believing and not doubting. And our God will surely meet your need.

Got it? If so, you're ready to endure testing. All you need now is something to get you started. And this, my friend is something for which you need not ask. You need trouble and I imagine it's on the way as we speak.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Ez. 35:1-36:38 Ja. 1:1-18 Ps. 116:1-19 Pr. 27:23-27 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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