James 1:5-8 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
- “Wisdom…is the grandest and rarest of the acquisitions possible to man. Knowledge, to a certain extent, is common and easy; but to know and to be wise are by no means the same thing…wisdom in the highest sense is simply another name for religion…there is no real wisdom at all where religion is wanting…It is clear from the context that the reference of James in the passage before us is specially to the wisdom needed in times of trouble…Wisdom for this is the highest of all, and the most difficult of attainment. Active performance of God’s will is easier than patience endurance of His will–to do well not as hard as to bear well.” – Robert Johnstone
- “God is the giver of all good things, in nature, providence, and grace; every good and perfect gift comes from him, and therefore he, and he only, should be applied unto…and to all that ask, and call upon him in sincerity, the riches of his grace…he gives ‘liberally’, readily, and at once, freely and cheerfully, and largely and abundantly; not grudgingly, sparingly, and with a strait hand, but with an open one, and in a very extensive manner.” – John Gill
- “however open-handed [a generous man] may be, we are ashamed to weary by asking too often. But James reminds us, that there is nothing like this in God; for he is ready ever to add new blessings to former ones, without any end or limitation.” – John Calvin
- “He who wrestles with God,-who, like the importune widow, is determined ‘not to faint’ in entreaty,-this man ‘as a prince has power with God’…God would have our supplication to be, not like a wind-driven surge, but like the strong current of a rapid river, sweeping away obstacles, bearing steadily onward to throw itself into the ocean of the divine grace.” – Robert Johnstone
- “He shews here, first the right way of praying…we testify by prayer, that we hope to obtain from God the grace which he has promised…also, we learn what is true faith; for James, after having bidden us to ask in faith, adds this explanation, nothing wavering, or, doubting nothing. Then faith is that which relies on God’s promises, and makes us sure of obtaining what we ask. It hence follows, that it is connected with confidence and certainty as to God’s love towards us.” – John Calvin
- “here is an implied contrast between the simplicity or liberality of God, mentioned before, and the double-mindedness of man; for as God gives to us with a stretched out hand, so it behooves us in our turn to open the bosom of our heart. He then says that the unbelieving, who have tortuous recesses, are unstable; because they are never firm or fixed, but at one time they swell with the confidence of the flesh, at another they sink into the depth of despair.” – John Calvin