Faith and Prayer

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. I John5:14-15. NLT.

I have a confession to make; there have been times when I have prayed that I did not ask in faith. I simply talked or thought into the air…thinking I was praying. But looking back, I was not engaged in the who (or is it whom) I was talking to!

If we are to connect in prayer it is very obvious we need to remember the “who” we are praying to. When my husband was alive, there were times when I was frustrated and I would speak to him, not with him. I momentarily forgot who he was to me or for me. I was only concerned about him hearing my concern. I think this can happen with our relationship with the Lord, as well. Jesus, in his prayer example, starts us off with “our father”. When we truly remember He is our Father, we engage differently.

I don’t know about you, but there are several serious battles going on in both my friends and families lives. I need to be able to pray and hear His response. These are bigger than any of us can handle. Sometimes, the “biggies” seem so overwhelming we share it with Him, but we don’t actually release our faith to believe he not only hears, but he is moving.

So after we connect to the “whom”, we must deal with any fear that may hinder the releasing of our faith. Sometimes it is helpful to nail down exactly what you are afraid of–instead of some nebulous feeling or lie. Are you afraid of God’s ‘no’s”? Then meditate on His character. As we prayed for my husband’s stroke recovery, I had to trust and believe that God knows best. We saw so many miracles–which of course made me want more! When he joined the Lord in heaven, I had to trust that it was best for him, because for a while I could only focus on my loss, not his gain. When I began express my thankfulness and gratitude, fear of my future without him began to subside and faith for my future began to rise. If we want to release our faith when we pray, we must deal with our fears.

Oh my friends, if you are facing difficult situations where you need His hand to move but find it difficult to release the small faith you have, take time to build your faith. Read Psalm 91 or Isaiah 41:10. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. He is so able to abundantly above and beyond what we can ask or think. We may not know His specfic plans for a situation, but we do know it will work out for good, if we follow Him and His ways. This leads to peace. When peace is present it is so much easier to release our faith and trust.

I am so grateful for His Word. Have you noticed Paul, in his letters, intersperses prayers for his audience? I have found myself focusing on them. It is so encouraging. This week I discovered this little nugget in 2 Thessalonians 1:11. so we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Isn’t this what every believer needs? I know I need this power to fulfill His assignments in my life, and according to Paul we all have it!

Don’t avoid prayer if you don’t like your situation. Take the time to talk it out with the Lord and you will be amazed at how perspectives can change when you pray it through. He is able and willing to help us–in every way needed. It’s hard to want to pray when we are battling unforgiveness or bitterness, but that is when we must seek Him.

Faith and prayer are intertwined. When I sit down and focus on Him, my prayers don’t seem too hard or too large. He is God, after all,

Father, I thank you for loving us enough to teach us how to pray. I thank you that you hear our soft groanings and move to answer them. Help us to understand that faith truly comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God–which you have freely given to us. Big problems in our eyes are not big problems in Yours, and for that I am so grateful. In Jesus’ Name, amen.