Double Minded Thinking

Double Minded Thinking

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Text: Deuteronomy 8:1-7, James 1:2-8

If I’m on a diet and I walk by a bakery, and I pick up two chocolate éclairs and go home and put them in the refrigerator then get down on my knees and pray, “Oh God, please help me not to eat those chocolate éclairs.”
How effective will my prayer be?

Let’s analyze the power of this prayer. Does God look at our words or our heart? Our Heart.
The words don’t make any difference unless they are aligned with the heart.
Why did I put the éclairs in the refrigerator?
So they would stay fresh – until I could justify eating them!

So what’s the condition of my heart?
Have I not already decided to live against my prayers? YES!
Is there any power in my prayers when I have already decided to live against them? NO!

Do you see the problem of saying prayers – not praying – when my heart is double minded? It’s not a prayer – it’s just words!!!

Double-minded-ness quenches the power of prayer.

Prayer involves the turning of the whole mind to God.
We cannot be facing two ways at once when we are engaged in prayer.
Double-minded = literally means "two-souled" or "two-spirited."
A double minded person is drawn into opposite directions.

My loyalty is divided.
Religious thinking wants me to pray, “God I want you as Lord of my life” when I haven’t let Him have control?
I have already decided to live against my prayers - a back door in case this doesn’t work out.

Do you understand the problem of asking God to change our life for us and to remove the sin from my life when I have éclairs in my refrigerator?
We keep them there – to stay fresh until I can justify my actions.

Ver.8 says this kind of person is unstable in all their ways.
Not only in the prayers they are saying, but in every part of their life.

I become unstable when I mix my human perspectives with God’s perspective on my situation.
When I justify my thinking / attitude / actions by my reasoning system.
Pr 3:5-7 “ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…” (Very hard for old people)

What do we do about it?
It is totally normal to struggle with being a double minded.
Recognizing the issue of being double-minded, is 90% of the battle.

Start with repentance. (What does this word mean?)
“God forgive me and help me change the way I think.”
I let the Holy Spirit pinpoint any lie / reasoning I have mixed with God’s opinion and what I think.
I use His Word to bathe and transform my mind and thinking. (Rom.12:2)

When I have the Holy Spirit bringing things to my attention, I find scriptures that pertain to the issue, and I memorize Scripture to use as a weapon against that thought process.