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The Author Bekah's Blog The Prayer of Faith | The Prayer of Faith |
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In short, they overlook the simplicity of faith: that is, living a life of fidelity to Christ despite what hardships may come their way. These Christians share at least one thing in common: a misunderstanding of the true meaning of faith. ... Definition of Christian Faith Hebrews 11:1-2 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." Does this mean that if we hope for something, we can be certain it will come to pass? Hardly. If that were true, then of course everyone would be a jackpot winner. We all know that merely hoping for something doesn’t guarantee it. This verse must be more specific in meaning - the “hope” it refers to must be a very specific hope. Let’s take a look at the rest of the chapter because it goes on to explain what faith is. Verse 3: "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Verse 6: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Right off the bat, we see that faith is belief. Believing that God is our Creator and that Jesus Christ is our Savior. These are the bare bones of Christian faith. So, if you're a professing Christian, then you already have faith. That’s the easy part. It’s when we try to dissect the deeper aspects of faith (the meat and the muscle) that we become overwhelmed or confused. Hebrews chapter 11 gives a summary of the Old Testament men and women of God, their faith in God, and the promises God gave each one. Men like Abraham and women like Rahab. Verse 13 says, "All these people were still living by faith when they died [They still believed in God and his Word when they died] . . . They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." Two things here: 1) Faith is believing in God and who he says he is, until the day you die, and 2) Faith is remaining faithFUL to God, even when you do not see your prayers answered and his promises to you fulfilled in your lifetime. This is a hard truth to come to terms with. For example, how many of you have prayed for decades for a loved one to come to Christ, only to see them pass away without making an acknowledged commitment to God? How many of you have begged God to take away the illness of a loved one only to see that dear friend suffer and die from a long, painful cancer. Sometimes we focus so much on the "no" answers to prayer that we forget about all the "yes" answers we’ve received. Or perhaps we even think that the answer no must mean we've been ignored. Let's consider now the "prayer of faith." The Prayer of Faith How many times have you told yourself that if you just prayed long enough and hard enough, God might consider granting your request? You quoted Scriptures aloud, such as James 5:16, to boost your “faith” ("The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up . . . The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.") But then when God doesn’t heal that sick person, or when God doesn’t bring about this miracle or that, our “faith” is weakened. We're left wondering if we weren’t righteous enough or maybe didn’t pray hard enough or with the right magical words. Consider Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ " Despite Paul's righteousness and faith, God did not heal him of this uncomfortable health issue. And it must've been bad, otherwise why would Paul plead with God to take it away? See, this wasn't a matter of weak faith vs. strong faith. The truth is, sometimes when we pray for physical healing, God says - No, my grace is sufficient for you. Paul's prayer was indeed answered, just not the way he wanted. The bottom line is that when God doesn’t answer our fervent prayers the way we want Him to, we feel disappointed, let down, and powerless. We decide that our faith isn’t strong enough. Or, on the other hand, perhaps we prayed with great faith, believing (convincing ourrselves) that God would indeed work a miracle. In our heart we truly felt that what we wanted was the best thing for everyone involved. But when He didn’t do what we wanted, we were filled with confusion and a sudden lack of self-confidence. Perhaps the next time we want to pray for someone (or ourselves), we'll no longer feel competent. Have you thus developed a why-bother attitude over the years? Or a “I’ll leave the praying up to someone with stronger faith” attitude? Thing is, when times are good and God seems to be answering every prayer the way we want him to, we feel confident and secure, perhaps even prideful in what we feel to be strong faith in our hearts - we’ve got the in with God. But then, when times are bad and our prayers are not being answered the way we want them to, we feel weak and insecure; wondering where we've gone wrong. In other words, a yes answer to prayer is a sign of strong faith, and a no answer is a sign of weak faith. The irony here is that often, when times are good, we cease to pray altogether! We don’t *need* anything, so we stop praying. We forget that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17), and as a result, God does not get credit for the wonderful blessings he bestows on us. And then, when times are bad, suddenly we’re on our knees, fasting and praying, wondering why God has abandoned us, and begging him for a miracle . . . or for mercy. This kind of Christian walk will disparage your personal understanding of faith, it will skew your understanding of the heart of God, and it will damage your relationship with the Lord. Consider: What if Christians were to pray for continued good health and take care of their bodies while they were still healthy? What if Christians were to examine their finances and keep things on track while things are good, thus avoiding debt and financial hardship down the road? What if Christians learned to love their spouses unconditionally during the good times so that when bad times come, they will have the wisdom to maintain a loving relationship; rather than begging God to heal their marriage after they’ve already entered the divorce courts. Sometimes faith is more in the preventive things we do than in the miracles worked when trials later befall us. "The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it" (Proverbs 27:12). Don’t allow things to degrade in your life to the point of irrevocable repair. See, it's often in these situations when we try to summon up “strong faith” and beg God for a miracle. And when that miracle inevitably doesn’t come (and we're left to face the consequences of our own bad choices), we feel weak in faith and question God’s love for us. Proverbs 19:3 says, "A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord." Are you blaming God for the consequences of your own sin? Are you bitter against God for not rescuing you from the consequences of such choices? This is an extreme example, but if you rob a bank and are caught, the consequence for your wrong doing will be jail time. No matter how repentant you are, you can beg God to set you free from the court system till the cows come home and it’s not going to happen. Is this because God is punishing you, or because your faith isn’t strong enough? Hardly. In this scenario, we can see just how ridiculous such a presumption is. It's as simple as reaping what we sow. So the next time you find yourself facing the consequences for wrong doing, things like ruined relationships, bankruptcy from excessive debt, physical injury or illness from carelessness, face the music and thank God for his mercy and forgiveness. If you're going to pray for anyting at this point, pray that God will help restore your relationships, finances or health, and then be willing to do your part. Instead of always begging God to fix these things with the snap of his fingers, be responsible. Do what needs to be done to get your feet back on solid ground. "See that no one is . . . godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing through tears" (Hebrews 12:16-17). If you have this kind of wishy-washy relationship with God, in which you're constantly questioning your worth as a Christian based on prayer trophies and miracles, how can you possibly be an effective witness for Christ? How can you ever experience the continual peace of God in your heart that Philippians 4:6-7 speaks of (the peace that passes all understanding), when you’re always second-guessing him? The kind of miraculous peace Horatio P. Stafford had when after losing all five of his children, he penned the infamous hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” You simply cannot. This is why so many Christians struggle with lifelong depression. They don’t quite understand what true faith is and are always doubting themselves and their relationship with God. Now, this is not to say that all depressions are caused by a misunderstanding of faith. Certainly many other inward and outward biological and psychological influences are at hand. But take a moment to consider: If you struggle with discontentment, chances are you often struggle with depression as well (the two go hand-in-hand) and this is the type of depression I'm refer to. Knowing what true faith is will give you the strength to endure any hardship - and the peace to accept a "no" answer to prayer. Instead of always questioning the whys and wherefores, allowing bitterness to grow in your heart, you'll be able to trust God even in the midst of great sorrow and be quick to forgive those who trespass against you. What better witness can there be than the Christian who loves God faithfully each day of his or her life whether on mountains or in valleys, through thick and through thin, in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and in health . . . True faith is unconditionally trusting in God; true faith is fidelity.
NEXT ARTICLE: A Measure of Faith
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES: Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed Though He Slay Me, Yet Will I Trust Him (c) 2007 - Bekah Ferguson Permissions: By all means, you are welcome to reproduce and distribute my articles in excerpts or complete format as long as you don't change any of the wording. If you do reproduce any part of my articles, please include the following information: by Bekah Ferguson, Ontario, Canada. www.bekahferguson.com Licensed under Creative Commons. |
Some Christians who are like waves tossed on the sea. Their walk with God lacks vitality. They don't bear much fruit because they're too busy fretting over how "weak" or "strong" their faith might be. When trials come, they feel singled out and worry that God is punishing them for some terrible sin they must have committed. And when God doesn't answer their prayers exactly as they'd like Him to, they doubt He even hears their prayers.