It's All About The 'Tude Dude

James 1: 5-8 --  "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 

It's been asked a million different ways since Who Wants To Be A Millionaire first hit our TV airways a few years back: "Is that your final answer?"  Each time the question is posed, I'm thinking in the back of my head -- well, it WAS until you asked me that question...... That's when I see beads of sweat beginning to pop out on the contestant's forehead. The brows furrough a bit, and the lips start to twitch just a tad. Perhaps the contestant sitting in the hot seat isn't quite as confident as he or she first thought. Doubt slinks over them and their body language changes a great deal. 

It's just a game show. They won't leave worse off than they were when they first sat down across from our celebrity host as millions of high voltage light bulbs heat the air around them. AND - they might actually walk away with some cash. Life or death does NOT hang in the balance. The moment, while perhaps blistering over with high anticipation - is truly not all that important.

Life back home, however .... IS the real deal.

Locked in the bathroom, face flat to the old shag carpet that my grandmother had for YEARS .... I agonized over a very poor life choice I'd made. Humility put me on the floor. And there, I stayed. Tears pouring down my face, hands shaking as they gripped my t-shirt, I uttered words that - to this day - I will never forget. The thing is: for most people this life changing event wouldn't have really been a big deal. It wasn't the choice itself that made up my poor behavior - it was my commitment to it. So wrapped up in the situation my focus steered far away from being centered on Christ. THAT - to me, was inexcusable. THAT - was definitely a problem. 

So I prayed. I knew if I continued on this path my focus would continue to veer away from the things that God really wanted me to do. So I asked, in all humility - that God take the cup from me. I didn't just want Him to pass it over - to pass it by me.  I wanted Him to take it from me completely. In shaky, sob-wracked breaths, I prayed that the Lord take the thing out of my life. I did not want to lose focus on what really mattered. 

However, as I brought myself up to rather shaky feet, I left the words hanging in the bathroom as I walked out and closed the door behind me. I wasn't entirely sure that I WANTED to let go. I talked myself into thinking that God was out of the office as I fell face first before Him. Perhaps, the prayer was going to be left unanswered. I almost hoped it would. I prayed thinking that there was no way God was going to give my words a second thought.  In fact, I was almost confident that He wouldn't.

Oh ye of little faith ..... ever hear the phrase; be careful what you ask for? I hit a home run with the bases loaded. Total grand slam. The thing, was indeed, taken from my life. It was the first, true devastating loss that I'd ever really experienced. I cried for months. It was nearly a year before I felt the timid makings of a smile spread across my lips, once more. Through out that year, I walked around like a zombie caught in a fog. But -- there WAS healing. And my focus had become, once again, on what the Lord wanted me to do with my life. There is no richer joy than being square in the arms of Jesus. No matter the growing pains we might experience along the way.

Our prayers matter. The words that we lift up toward our Father should not be taken lightly. James reminds us how very important those words really are. Do not utter things we do not mean. Do not pray half-heartedly, without reverence, without hope - and especially, without faith. 

Did you know that an academic study put out years ago on the statistics of standardized tests concluded that most students do better when they don't go back and second guess their first answer? The study indicated that our first response IS actually usually the correct one. For a game show participant sitting in the hot seat waiting for the clock to tick by - the same is true. The first choice IS usually the correct one. Game show producers know this and have intentionally designed their programming to instill self-doubt and lack of confidence. FAITH - is where it's at. Utter your words - your prayers - with courage, with strength ... with FAITH. Let not the tv game show producers of your life rattle you into a shaky relationship with Jesus. Blow NOT as sea foam in the winds of a hurricane. Be the wave - not changing in it's direction.

Whether it be under the blazing bright of studio lights, or a tungsten, low-lit bathroom with horrible shag carpet - faith matters. Confidence matters. Our attitude is EVERYTHING. The power of the words we utter in true humility cannot be discounted. God knows our hearts. THAT is where the impurities float to the top of the crucible where they can be scraped off and thrown out - leaving the pure, precious metal in the pot. Leaving a pure attitude.

Ask. God is generous. God provides freely. Ask with words that punch through any doubts like a volcano pushing to the surface of a boiling sea. God WILL answer.

When we let him.