Richard Sibbes wrote, “It is atheism to pray and not to wait in hope. A sincere Christian will pray, wait, strengthen his heart with the promises, and never leave praying and looking up till God gives him a gracious answer.” The primary point of intensified intercession is that it is far more than a conversational tone. This kind of prayer is more than friendly talk with the Almighty. It is beseeching heaven with shameless resolve. God has entrusted us with enormous responsibility and called us to a God-sized enterprise. Bounds writes, “He prays not at all, who does not press the plea. Cold prayers make no claim on heaven, and no hearing in the courts above. Fire is the life of prayer, and heaven is reached by flaming importunity rising in an ascending scale.”
Millions of prayers are offered with virtually no faith. But it is our faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). There may be as much skepticism in the faith community as there is in the secular world. The lack of dynamic faith limits what God does in us, around us, and through us. Faith is absolutely essential to conquering prayer.
Our prayers will only be effective when we ask and believe God will answer. With so many promises from the Lord, it is an insult to Deity when we do not pray in faith. “This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14–15).
You can be certain that your prayer is heard when you pray in accordance with God’s will. With this assurance, live as if you have the answer. Furthermore, fulfill your duties to see your prayer answered. Faith requires active cooperation in the accomplishment of His will on earth. Prayer is answered when we stake our lives on it. In other words, we must put “legs” on our prayers.
Loyola said, “Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended on you.” He is able to answer exceedingly above what you ask (Ephesians 3:20). When you pray for silver, it just may be that God will give you gold.
A small Kentucky town had two churches, and a vocal atheist owned a distillery. The churches thought the liquor distillery was a blight on the community, so they held a joint prayer meeting asking God to shut down the brewery. One Saturday evening, a thunderstorm erupted during one of their prayer gatherings. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the distillery, and it burned to the ground.
The next morning, both churches heard sermons on the power of prayer. The insurance adjusters deemed the loss an “act of God.” Then, the distillery owner took out a lawsuit charging that the churches had conspired with God to destroy his business. The churches denied their involvement, claiming they had nothing to do with it. The judge opened the case before a packed courtroom. The judge began by saying, “This is the strangest case I have ever seen. Here we have an atheist who believes in the power of prayer and two churches full of Christians who don’t!”
Jesus spoke repeatedly about the correlation between faith and prayer. He rebuked the wind and then asked His disciples, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). In the Gospel of Mark, it reads, “How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
The disciples repeatedly displayed faith failures. And time and again Jesus chided them for their unbelief (Matthew 17:20). It was unbelief that hindered miracles in Jesus’s homeland (Matthew 13:58). Even after the resurrection, Jesus reprimanded the disciples for their lack of faith (Mark 16:14). There is no doubt that God can do anything He chooses, but many Scriptures confirm that miracle answers are tied to man’s faith. Jesus said His activity on earth is governed by one thing: “according to your faith” (Matthew 9:29) …
*Taken from NEXT LEVEL PRAYING chapter 13. Get your copy TODAY. CLICK HERE to learn more.
