Alvin Vandergriend- Faith is a second requirement of true prayer. Prayers without faith are incomplete. Millions of prayers have been prayed with no faith and have thus failed in their intent. They have not been true prayers.
The astounding promise Jesus makes in Mark 11:24 seems to offer too much. How can God offer to do "whatever [we] ask for in prayer"? And why have so many believers asked, trusting God, and not received? (Google image, How to be a man of prayer)
The difficulty we have with this passage is really a difficulty in understanding faith. We tend to think of faith as a personal possession that exists wholly within us. We figure that if we have enough faith we'll get what we ask for—and if we don't, we won't get it.But faith is not simply a possession. It's an aspect of relationship. It's not something we own like an idea or a feeling. Faith always involves another person. It trusts the other person to think and act in a certain way.
For example, throughout all the years my parents were alive, I knew they would welcome me anytime I came home. I knew they loved me. I trusted that they cared for me and were willing to help me anytime. In other words, I had faith in them.
This faith was based on what I knew about them. Faith in God is like that. It's a conviction about who God is, what he is like, and how he will always act.
Praying in faith is not an inner conviction that God will act according to our desire if only we believe hard enough. It involves believing that God will always respond to our prayers in accord with His nature, His purposes, and His promises.
God does not want us simply to toss requests at Him, hoping that some of them will be answered. He wants us to ask, knowing He is there, claiming what He promises, trusting that He will act in line with His nature and that His purposes will be achieved. That's praying in faith.
When you ask a person for something in good faith, you don't ask for something the person would not be willing to give. I could never for example, ask my parents to give me more than my share of their inheritance. I know them too well to make such a selfish and unfair request.
Similarly, if you truly know God, you will only ask for what is in accord with His will and not for anything that is purely selfish.
If you want to grow strong in prayer, grow strong in faith. If you want to grow strong in faith, get to know God better. If you want to get to know God better, spend time with Him, reading His word and listening to His spirit.
(From pp. 24, 25, Love to Pray- 40 Day Devotional for Deepening Your Prayer Life by Alvin Vandergriend)
Let's Pray-
Father, it is with open and honest hearts that we ask for Your help in our praying, to have more effective prayers. We ask for Your Spirit to teach us to trust You to grant what is on our hearts, and to enable us to believe that You are Able to do what is best for us as answers.
We are sure of Your nature, which is revealed in Your Word. We know that You will deliver on Your promises we find there. Because You are Trustworthy, we know You hear our prayers and that You will help our unbelief and increase our faith.
We thank You for the wisdom You provide, and as we keep asking and trusting, we will receive the wisdom we ask for. This is our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
~ Our being able to pray to the Father anytime and anywhere, is an awesome privilege! He hears our bold prayers for our needs and the needs of others. He listens with a Heart of Love, and has ordained that as we ask according to His will, we will have confidence by our faith in Jesus, that He will move any mountain that we have.
Today's Question
Why did the man with leprosy get healed? (Matt. 1:40-45)
When he heard the man called Jesus was in town, and that healings were happening, he wanted to be healed too, though he was normally kept from the public due to his disease! Because he believed that Jesus could heal him, he went to Him, kneeling before Him in desperation, pleading for Him to heal him. He asked that if Jesus was willing, He believed that He could make him clean.
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15
You can view past services too.
Sermon listing: https://www.
My recent fall and fractured hip will keep me from posting Faith Messages for a while. I hope to be able to get back to creating new messages in the near future. May the Lord bless you with what you’ll click on to read meanwhile. There are 2,063 messages to check from.
ReplyDeletePrayers for a speedy recovery, Grandma Jean!
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