Category: Prayer

The Role of Faith in Prayer

The role of faith in prayer is especially noteworthy and clear if you ever experience divine healing.   In late June, 2009, I was rushed to the hospital after being  overwhelmed by a bacterial infection from eating poorly cooked steak.. divine healingI was admitted with a sustained temperature of 104, renal failure, an infected gallbladder, blood poisoning and extremely low blood pressure.  On multiple accounts, I had a 50/50 chance of living. Through the prayer of many, I was rescued and healed. It took a while to fully recover, but it is noteworthy that the role of faith in prayer was so meaningful. Faith in prayer is a subject worthy of discussion.

In Mark 11:  22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly  I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
 
As Jesus described,  faith during prayer is a state of mind. When we are oriented to faith all the time, we are in a different world with respect to how we deal with God. ‘Prayer by faith’ is prayer in which we communicate with God about what we are doing together.  This is an interesting discovery: If I am doing the praying without the ‘together’ relationship,  I am  most likely responding to my self-interests, without cooperation to God’s interests.
 
Faith is relying on something as if it were actuality, even when we cannot see it. We are prepared without thinking to act on things as if it were so. Faith does not have the meaning “I want’ or ‘I ought’ to believe something.  Hebrews 11:1  says   “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ”
 

What faith in prayer is not

faith is needed in prayer
    • Faith is not a qualification ‘step’ for an answer.
    • God does not take our request as a ‘personal favor’ because of our relationship.
    • Faith is not something we speak into being. This last point is a big one. There is a belief in many churches today in which many modern preachers say you can ‘speak things into being’ (aka ‘name it and claim it’).  Also known as the Word of Faith movement, this is a dangerous theology because it does not treat Jesus with a correct understanding, and has no understanding of repentance.
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  • What faith in prayer is

    • Faith in prayer is me in relationship with God, and me applying myself to God in the assurance of the relationship we have.  
      •  Faith is more than the idea of recognizing a concept. It also requires exercising action.  For example, if  I say the word ‘chair’ and do nothing else, the word remains a concept. I have to sit in the chair for the concept to become reality. Belief in God is not enough. I have to act on my belief within the assurance of  our relationship.
    • Faith in prayer is certainty, not failure.
      • Many people are scared to pray for specifics because they fear that the prayer may not succeed.
        1.  Solution: Pray for specifics you can expect, given your current relationship with God and level of faith (1 Cor 12:13b – But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.). God works with us based on what we can handle,  when we are not ready to understand.
        2. When we want to improve our success level in prayer we should think in terms of love. Love helps us understand our helplessness, and how limited we actually are. Love compels us in a specific direction.
        3. When we pray in faith, 3 things become clear:

1. God is here. Heaven and Christ’s kingdom start right here. We should feel and know it.

2.  God is able. Nothing is too hard for God. We can let the doubts fade.

3. God is good.  If a person does not believe God is good, our prayer may never be fulfilled.

Are you ready to Act?

In desperate times, if prayer is the last thing we think we can do, practical faith needs a better priority in your life. Practical faith prays first. Consider that chair concept again… the natural choice when I am tired is to sit in the chair.  I should not fret over what to do when I am tired. I should act on it immediately. O, if only we could act on our needs as they come up, by turning to God in prayer — at the moment we need to act. Only then can we lift praises to God and expect that a result will happen.

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