You see, I have things in my life that I have prayed for over a long period of time. I've prayed for the salvation of loved ones. I've prayed for victories over sins and weaknesses and ailments in my own life. I've prayed for our country to turn back to God and for the leaders of our nation. Though I pray these things, at times I have been guilty of concluding God will not answer my prayers.
When the blind men came to Jesus (after Jesus seemed to ignore them by going into a house), Jesus said to them "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" (Matt. 9:28).
I wondered why Jesus asked them this. Was it possible that they doubted He was able to do it? Was it possible He spoke those words for the benefit of someone else in the house? Was He trying their faith in order to strengthen it?
I suppose any of those scenarios are possible.
Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith be it unto you." And voila, their eyes are opened. Why did Jesus say this? What was lacking in their faith? Was it for the benefit of others in the room?
Because these words are recorded, I believe they are meant for me to read and to learn...they are meant for me.
I have a tendency to race forward assuming the Lord is with me. Then I arrive at a point, look around and become fearful because I can't see God. Lord, where are You? I thought this was what You wanted me to do?
Praise the Lord for His great mercy and patience.
As I go along in life, I am realizing how little I understand and know of God and man. One thing I am learning, having faith isn't about what you receive in the end. Having faith is about being faithful and obedient. Yes, we can pray. Yes God delights in answering our prayers, but He takes a greater pleasure in seeing us remain faithful to Him.
How many times have I gone to Him in prayer, thinking I am in His will, only to discover pride propelled me to pray, not a humble heart surrendered to God?
Can God perform miracles? I have no doubt He can.
However, often I doubt that He would do so for me. I forget sometimes just how much He loves me. I forget sometimes to praise Him before others for the things He has done for me. I often struggle with the notion that I wasn't good enough to earn God's favor (and what a bunch of phewy that is - how could I even think that I could earn His favor).
I am beginning to understand the answers to life are not in the answers to prayers. My faith cannot rest on whether God answers my prayers the way I want them answered. That is a shallow faith that dies under the heat of life's pressures.
Faith is a noun. It exists, not because of any act on my part. It simply is. Faith is something you can obtain.
Believing is a verb. It is an action.
Jesus said, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" He required an action. The blind men spoke, "Yea, Lord." The action happened.
Jesus said, "According to your faith be it unto you." The thing of faith belonged to the blind men. They had taken an action and now owned faith. The first action was to follow Jesus and call out to Him, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." They believed in their heart, acted, and gained faith.
Yes, when you consider their hearts, it is more complex then that. But sometimes going to the simplest form helps us to understand a little better the larger concept.
Believing is an action. That action reveals the faith.
So how does one gain faith that God answers prayers?
What action can we take?
- Praying
- Reading God's Word
- Remembering what He has done in the past
- Taking steps of faith, like the blind men following Jesus into the house and answering "Yea, Lord" to His question.
- Remaining faithful to Him no matter how far He takes us before He stops and asks us "Believe ye that I am able to do this?"
Since faith is a noun, you either have it or you don't. Since believing is an action, you need to put it to work. But what will that action reveal? What type of faith will come of it?
Romans 10:17 says:
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."In the context of this verse, the faith refers to salvation, but the principle remains the same. The action is hearing; the faith comes by hearing.
James 2:17-20 says:
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"How we act out reveals the kind of faith we have. If we do nothing, what does that say about our faith? If we throw a temper tantrum because we did not get the answer we wanted, what does that say about our faith? If we cry out to God that we would rather die than be where we are, what does that reveal about our faith?
In our minds desires form. We want something, and we must believe that we can get it. We pray. Sometimes that is all we need do. God answers with a yes. Sometimes we need to have a walk of faith. Through that walk we discover what we thought we desired is not what we really desired. God reveals to us a better desire or our true desire.
Sometimes we do not receive an answer because we need to go along that path of faith. What does that mean? Simply walking in obedience to the Lord with our eyes not on the things of this world or the situations we find ourselves in, but on eternity. Often when we walk our perspective changes, and we no longer see our prayer request as the driving force to our actions and prayers, rather we simply learn to love God more.
How do you gain faith that God will answer prayer is perhaps the wrong question. The focus of that question is on what we gain instead of loving God. In the end, we need to love God more than we love what we prayed for. When we love Him more, we'll trust Him for the right outcome. Then we'll see our faith for what it is.
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