(Continued from 4/1/2015)
Real faith means taking action. We have faith that a chair will hold us up when
we sit in it because we have experience with chairs. If our experience told us
that blue chairs usually broke, it would make us wary of blue chairs. We would
probably test them a bit before putting all our weight on them.
On the other hand, since we don’t know when God will answer our prayers, it is
often not a good idea to take certain actions. We can pray for health, but should
not quit taking medicine until we discuss it with our doctor. Maybe God chooses
to heal us through the medication. Keep taking the medication but pray and
then thank God that He is healing your body.
Often God will answer our prayer even if our faith is weak because it is His will.
In the book of Acts, Peter got out of jail when a room filled with believers prayed
for him. When he came to the very door of the house where they were praying
and knocked, they did not believe the servant girl when she told them it was Peter.
Now that we’ve established the critical component of faith in powerful prayer,
let’s look at an acronym that is a simple way to remember the five steps
to powerful prayer. Each of these steps will be explained more fully in later
chapters, but for now, let’s look at the acronym FAITH.
F Faith and Find a Bible verse to stand on.
A Ask
I Imagine the answer
T Thank God for it
H Hold on to your faith and be Happy while you wait
1. Faith. Have faith when you pray and Find a Bible verse to stand on.
Matthew 9:29 “According to your faith will it be done to you
Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Mark 11:23, 24 “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received
it, and it will be yours.”
Find a verse in the Bible that applies to your prayer request. At first, that
seems restrictive and difficult, but there are so many promises in the Bible, you
will surely find one if your desire aligns with God’s will. For example, if you
are praying for money, get a concordance and look up verses that speak of
wealth or prosperity. Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 are a few of many
good verses about wealth. If you are praying for a relationship, look up verses
on love. If you are lacking something, think of Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall lack nothing.”
Find scriptures that promise you an answer to your prayer. It is a good idea
to memorize a verse or two of those promises. Many times you will not find a
specific verse that promises you what you are asking. That is okay. Just have
faith and pray for it. See the books.
More in a few days about this.
