Faith and Patience

I have been reading a lot lately, and it seems the theme for this week is faith and patience. Patience is one of the hardest things for me to learn. I ran across this passage tonight.

James 1:2-8
Bretheren, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But, let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

I find that when I pray and ask God for wisdom, or for Him to do a specific work in my life, or in the lives of others, that I have to vocalize my faith. Vocalizing my faith helps to drive out the doubt. The way I vocalize my faith is to first ask. Even though God knows what we need, or will be asking of Him, the first step of faith is to ask. Once I am done asking and praying about whatever it is, I then thank Him. I thank Him that he will do as I have asked, and that He will honor my prayers in His time. This is the vocalization of faith. The bible says to "pray with thanksgiving" How can we do that, if we never thank Him for His work (even before He has done that work) Faith is believing that what we ask will be done, even before we see it done.
One more thought on this too. When we are falling into various trials, recognize that as the Hand of God working. He is allowing our faith to be tested so that when He does answer our prayers, that we will see his mighty power and have even a stronger faith at the end of the trial.