Secrets of Effective Prayer (5)
Introduction/Recap: In the last episode we discussed Praying the will of God through the word and the Holy Spirit. We continue further in this episode by sharing more secrets of effective prayer.
- PRAYING WITH FAITH. In Mark 11:24 Jesus says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believethat ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
(1)When ye pray. No matter how positive any promise of God’s Word may be, we will not enjoy it in actual experience unless we confidently expect its fulfillment in answer to our prayer.
(2) Believe. It is not just any prayer, but believing prayer that gets answers.
Examine James 1:5-8
- Faith and believing are how we access God and everything God has
- Jesus demanded Faith; and still demands Faith]: In Matthew 9v 28 Jesus said to the blind man: ‘Believe ye that I can do this?’ Here, in Mark, He says: ‘What wilt thou that I should do?’ In both cases He said that faith had saved them. He said to the Syrophenician woman: ‘great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.’
- Faith stands on the word: the prayer of faith, finding God’s will in some promise of the Word, pleads for that till it come. Faith is nothing but the purpose of the will resting on God’s word, and saying: I must have it.
- Faith Expects:There must then be confident unwavering expectation.Illustration girl with umbrella praying for rain.Luke 1:45 ‘‘And blessed is she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord. (corresponding action)
- Faith receives.But there is a faith that goes beyond expectation that believes that the prayer is heard and the promise granted. This comes out in the Revised Version of Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, all things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye HAVE received them, and ye shall have them.”
- Faith Thanks God in anticipation: Philippians 4:6says ‘‘in nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- Faith does not give up. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)
But how does real faith come? Rom10:17 answers the question: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing BYTHE WORD OF GOD.” If we are to have real faith, we must study the Word of God and find out what is promised, then simply believe the promises of God.
Conclusion
Reflect on this question: What action do I need to increase my word intake hence faith?
