GETTING ANSWERS TO PRAYER PART 7

July 28, 2013 at 8:55 AM (Answered Prayer, Faith)
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We all want answers to prayer. That’s why we pray in the first place. To get the help we need from God. Unfortunately, prayer by itself doesn’t guarantee an answer from God. Asking by itself doesn’t automatically mean we’re gonna get what we asked God for. It’s not because God doesn’t want to answer our prayer. Rather, it’s because God laid out several conditions that we must meet: He wants us to do certain things before He’ll answer our prayer. That may not seem right or fair to a lot of people. But that’s just the way it is. God is God and the conditions that He’s set for answered prayer are, no joke, for our good. They keep us dependent on Him instead of using Him as a celestial Santa Claus to become greedy, selfish, and materialistic.

For organization’s sake, I’ve categorized the conditions for answered prayer into three broad categories: conditions we must meet before we pray, conditions we must meet when we pray, and finally, conditions we must meet after we pray.

In the six preceding posts we looked at the things God wants us to do before we pray. Let’s turn our attention now to the things God wants us to do when we pray.

IF YOU WANT ANSWERS TO PRAYER, BELIEVE

God wants you to believe when you pray. That’s how you get answers to prayer. By believing. Jesus taught us how to pray or ask in Matthew 21:22, And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Mark 11:24 similarly reads, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

IF YOU WANT ANSWERS TO PRAYER, YOU’VE GOT TO BELIEVE. BELIEVING COMES BEFORE RECEIVING. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE, YOU DON’T RECEIVE. It’s just that simple.

Another way of saying it is doubters receive nothing. James 1:6-8 makes this very clear. But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm.  (7 & 8)  If you are that kind of person, you can’t make up your mind, and you surely can’t be trusted. So don’t expect the Lord to give you anything at all.

Brethren, if you want your prayers answered you mustn’t doubt. DOUBT AND UNBELIEF WILL KEEP YOU FROM RECEIVING THE ANSWERS TO YOUR PRAYER. Jesus very plainly told us this in Mark 11:23, For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

THE POWER OF FAITH

Faith is such an amazing thing. IT WILL MOVE THE HAND OF GOD TO DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO HAVE DONE. Of course, you’ve got to meet the other conditions for answered prayer. And when you do, FAITH MAKES ALL THINGS POSSIBLE, no matter how hopeless or impossible things may look.

Do yourself a favor and instead of doubting what I just said, instead of looking at your circumstances and reinforcing your fears and doubts; focus on what Jesus said in Mark 9:23. FOCUS! He said, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. He knows how hard it is for us to believe sometimes. So He repeats Himself in Matthew 17:20, hoping to drive the point home and get all the doubt out of our heart and mind. He said, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Is Jesus true or not? Is He lying? If He isn’t, and He isn’t, then it’s really true: everything is possible. God can do whatever we need Him to do for us! If we believe!

  • The Roman centurion didn’t want his servant to die. He trusted Jesus to heal him even though he was dying. Jesus told him, as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee, Matthew 8:13. Of course, the guy believed and his servant got well again that very hour.
  • Two men were incurably blind. Back in those days there was nothing that could be done for them. They lived without the hope of ever seeing again. But the blind men chose to believe Jesus for healing and sight. Jesus said to them, According to your faith be it unto you, Matthew 9:29. They believed. And as a result, they saw.
  • The Syro-Phoenician woman was the same way. At first, Jesus refused to pay any attention to her. Then He flat out denied her and insulted her. But the woman would not be denied. She persisted in her prayer request. Jesus told her in Matthew 15:28, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. Do I need to tell you what happened after that? The lady got what she asked Jesus for.

FAITH, I AM SAYING, WILL GET YOU MIRACLES. IT WILL GET YOU ANSWERS TO PRAYER. PEOPLE, NATURE, AND DEMONS CANNOT STOP YOU FROM GETTING YOUR MIRACLE OR ANSWER TO PRAYER AS LONG AS YOU’RE BELIEVING AND MEETING GOD’S OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER.

Let me hasten to say here that, while faith is indeed a powerful substance or force for good; the real power behind faith is not faith itself, but the object of our faith—that is God. Jesus told us in Mark 11:22, Have faith in God. It’s God who answers prayer. It’s God who works miracles. It’s God who makes people, nature, and demons do His will. It’s God who makes our bodies, the forces of nature, and demons line up with whatever it is we’re believing and asking God to do. GOD IS THE POWER. So don’t be foolish and have faith in yourself or have faith in the power of faith. Look to God. Have faith in Him. And God will give you the desires of your heart.

Coming Up On My Next Post In This Series, Part 8. Okay, we know that we need to believe. But what exactly are we supposed to believe? Trust me, you don’t want to miss this next post! See you in a week. And in the mean time I’ll be praying and asking God to help us all believe. It isn’t easy sometimes. I know. But as we focus our eyes on God and settle the fact that nothing is impossible for God to do, then faith becomes so much easier! It really does! Don’t despair, my friend. We have hope. Because we have God. See you next week. And may the blessings of God be on you.

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LORD HELP ME BELIEVE

December 11, 2012 at 5:23 PM (Faith, Getting/Increasing)
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For a lot of us, faith doesn’t come easy. We’re prone to doubt. Sadly, shamefully, we’re prone to doubt God most of all. Distrust is built into sinful human nature. It’s like we don’t trust anyone. Not really. Including God. I know it all boils down to whether we’re going to believe God or not. Are we going to believe what God said? Or are we going to believe what everyone else is saying? What the circumstances are saying? What that demon who’s perched on our shoulder is saying? Trusting God is easy when everything’s going our way. But when everything’s stacked against us, fear and logic kick in and pretty much put an end to whatever little faith we had.

In our saner, better moments, we wish we could trust God more! How we wish we had more faith! Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief!

God is a merciful God. He wants us to trust Him and He helps us do that. I will never cease to praise Him for that day long ago when, in the midst of my struggles and doubts, He brought me to Psalm 9:10 and said, Here, son, is how you get strong, abiding faith. I read the verse and my life’s been changed ever since. Those who know Your name, O Lord, will put their trust in You.

You have to know the Lord before you can really trust Him. I know we all like to think we know the Lord. We have a fairly good knowledge of God and the Bible. Yet, in our knowledge, we’re still prone to argue with God, to question, doubt, and distrust Him. Why is that? It’s because we don’t know Him as we should. We have a bookish knowledge of Him, but we don’t have the kind of intimate, faith-inspiring knowledge that can be had only in the context of a close and personal relationship with God.

It’s like two people who know the President. One’s a reporter who digs up all he can about the President in books, magazines, the papers, the newscasts, and the net. He’s never met the President, but he knows a lot about him. Then there’s the President’s confidant and close friend. He spends a lot of time with the President. He knows the President’s heart and soul. Which of the two, would you say, knows the President well? Of course, the guy who spends the most time with the President himself.

This is the way it is with God. The Bible is great and our bookish knowledge of God is gobs better than ignorance. But God is a Person. He’s a Personal Being. And, like we are with one another, He wants to be with us. That’s what salvation and eternity are all about: it’s about God saving us so that we can spend eternity with Him. But God isn’t waiting for eternity to be with us: He wants us to draw close to Him right now. He wants us to have an intimate friendship and relationship with Him. It’s called communion. Hanging out. Spending time with the one you love.

YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW A PERSON UNTIL YOU SPEND TIME WITH THAT PERSON. There are things that can be known only in the context of a close friendship or relationship. Like a marriage or friendship, the more time you spend with someone, the more you get to know that person. And the more you get to know the person, the more you love, trust, and respect that person.

TRUST COMES EASY WHEN YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TRUSTING. If you’re following God from afar and don’t have much of a relationship with Him in prayer or in the Word, then faith won’t be easy for you. YOU CAN’T TRUST SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW.

Do you want to have faith? Do you long to have a strong, abiding faith in God despite the trials and the adverse reasonings and circumstances of life? Get to know God better. Spend more time with Him in prayer and the Word. Talk to Him lots. And keep quiet long enough to hear Him speak back to you. He’s got so much He wants to say to you! So keep quiet and listen. Work on your relationship with Him. FAITH WILL COME AS A MATTER OF COURSE WHEN YOU KNOW THE LORD IN A PERSONAL SORT OF WAY.

Are you having problems with doubt? Are you trying, struggling, to believe? Clear your mind of the thoughts that trouble you. Focus on God. Draw near to Him and get to know Him better. THE MORE YOU KNOW HIM THE LESS YOU’LL DOUBT HIM. THE MORE YOU KNOW HIM THE MORE YOU’LL TRUST HIM. AND THE MORE YOU TRUST HIM THE MORE YOU’LL SEE HIS SAVING HAND AND HELP. For You, O Lord, do not forsake or abandon those who seek You (Psalm 9:10b).

May God grant you a heart to know Him. And, in knowing Him, fill your heart with faith and your mind with peace. God bless you.

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