The Prayer of Faith

Have you ever attempted to drive at night without your car lights on? It’s scary and super dangerous. Who likes to walk into a dark room, stumble around, and have your shins hit something you can’t see? We do a lot of things in life by blind faith. Everything today works by algorithms, data points, micro-chips, and sensors, and we just go on our merry way figuring it will  all work. When it comes right down to it, that’s a lot of faith in systems.

Well, rooted deep in the core

of our belief system in a holy God is faith. When it comes to Biblical Christianity and walking with God everything that we know and do is set upon the Biblical principle, “we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). How is that possible? We come to God by faith, we accept his free gift of salvation by faith, and we are to walk in that faith on a daily basis. It’s a big ask! I also believe it’s a learned skill.

Faith in God is a counter intuitive concept. We are logical beings built on the laws of nature. What comes up must come down. Turn the key, and the car starts. We rely on mechanical systems to work. We rely on what we see, know, and understand. God is asking us not to lean on that understanding but on his heart. He asks us to trust that his ways are not our ways, and his will is to be done not ours. Proverbs give us this command thought.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”  Prov. 3:5-6

Even the disciples, the followers of Jesus in his day said, “teach us to pray”. (Luke 11:1) Our little finite and emotional minds need direction, clarity, and instruction. God does this by speaking through His Word, and by His Spirit, that lives within us. We are learning the “prayer of faith” as we grow in him and lean into his will and purposes for our lives. Prayer is that moment by moment conversation with God for our needs and the desires of our heart. We discover what he wants us to do by the faith he gives us. That is where the learned skill comes into focus.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God;  He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  Heb. 11:6

In I Kings 19, we read the encounter of God with Elijah the prophet. After the most dynamic of miracles, where God takes care of the evil prophets of Baal, Elijah seems lost. He fears for his life. God shows unbelievable wonders, yet, Elijah is still fearful. The passage shares that God “gently whispers” to his servant. They call it the “still small voice” of God. It’s almost an inside whisper that connects my heart with God’s heart. It provides confidence we are going in the right direction and doing the right thing. You just know, because the heart of the Spirit of God is in tune with your heart.

The encouragement and admonition is to “step out” by faith and believe God. As we seek him, the promise is that he will reward us. The pathway to peace, understanding, and clarity will be seen.

The prayer of faith, in relationship to a capital campaign, is God giving a vision and we respond by faith believing He will supply the need.

“Do not be anxious, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” Phil. 4:6-7

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” Phil. 5:17

Matthew, Luke, and the book of John all record the famous “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  

Apparently, there is a direct correlation with believing faith and “the asking” principle. God seeks these two elements in the prayer of faith. He desires that we “seek his face” and believe that he will hear, answer, and deliver by the “good pleasure of his will.” If we are asking in response to his will, the vision of God he presented to us, then ask confidently for him to supply what’s needed.

Let’s boldly go before the Lord, seek his face, and ask him to bless his people!