Discover Prayer (Part IV): Pray in Faith!

if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

In the previous Discover Prayer blogs we have reviewed the following tenets of prayer:

• We must ask and ask in Jesus’ name to receive. (1)
• Our motive in asking must not be selfish but rather to honor God our Father. (1)
• The requests are to be based on the contract that we have with God. (1)

With the introduction of these important foundation principles, we are now poised to analyze the process of prayer to increase our prayer efficiency.

We will start by explaining the third tenet of making our requests based on the provisions (i.e., promises) of the contract (i.e., covenant) we have with God.

The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat. In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.” (Isaiah 55:10–11 NET)

Again, we will use the example of being in a situation where you do not know what to do – a situation that appears without hope or is hopeless.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands—that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11–13 NET)

At the root of this situation will be a problem(s) that seem overwhelming to our natural ability and resources. Furthermore, if we continue to look upon and rehearse the problem(s), then our belief or faith in them will grow. (1)

Belief or faith in the PROBLEMS(s) is another way of defining FEAR

However, instead of focusing on the problem, we can look to God for Him to allow us to see the situation as He sees it.

When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, (Jeremiah 29:13 NET)

‘Call on me in prayer and I will answer you. I will show you great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.’  (Jeremiah 33:3 NET)

This is what the LORD, your protector, says, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17 NET)

God will then speak to us (1) in one or more of the following ways to restore our sight:

Directly to our spirit

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27 NET)

Reading the Bible

Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NET)

The Council of People Who Have God’s Counsel

There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the Lord which will stand. (Proverbs 19:21 NET)

One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment. (Proverbs 18:1 NET)

Our Circumstances

The LORD said to Jonah son of Amittai, “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.”Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the LORD. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the LORD. But the LORD hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up! The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep. The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!” The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?”He said to them, “I am a Hebrew! And I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.) Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.” Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse. So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. The men feared the Lord greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:1–17 NET)

Dreams

After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions. (Joel 2:28 NET)

Visions

After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions. (Joel 2:28 NET)

Godly Prophesy

For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. (1 Corinthians 12:8–11 NET)

Nature (3)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18–20 NET)

This restoration of our sight by God could also be called restoration of VISION. When God restores our VISION, it results in HOPE being restored, meaning hopelessness is no more!

When there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but the one who keeps the law, blessed is he! (Proverbs 29:18 NET)

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 NET) 

However, the HOPE that came from the restored VISION must be believed for it to do any good.

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. (Romans 8:24–25 NET)

That is, we must have FAITH in the VISION that has brought us HOPE.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NET)

Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Furthermore, FAITH in the VISION that has brought us HOPE must be OBEDIENTLY put into action to be productive in causing the VISION to become a reality.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. (James 2:14–18 NET)

That is, even if God restores your VISION, giving you HOPE and you have the FAITH to trust Him unless you start acting to fulfill the VISION, nothing is going to happen. (2) Again, the VISION from God brings HOPE and HOPE when acted upon by an OBEDIENT FAITH causes the VISION to become a reality.

It is FAITH that believes in the completed work of Jesus’ Cross at Calvary.  God does not have to send Jesus to the cross again when we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord because the whole world’s sin debt has already been paid. 

and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world. (1 John 2:2 NET)

Therefore, we simply ASK (1) God to pass the salvation that has been placed on the table before us. 

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13 NET)

The same is true when we are praying for any need, want, or desire to be met in our lives.

Jesus answered them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21–22 NET)

Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:22–24 NET)

But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6–8 NET)

Realize, we have been redeemed from everything that Adam’s sin (1) brought into the World through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) (Galatians 3:13 NET)

That is, God did a greater work through the last Adam (Jesus) than Satan did through the first Adam.  

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. (1 Corinthians 15:45–46 NET)

(See Deuteronomy 28:15-68 for a description of the curse, including all sicknesses, that came upon mankind due to the fall of Adam).

Through faith, we receive the promises that give us Christ’s victory over the curse (Galatians 3:13,14. Hebrews 11:33).

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith. (Galatians 3:13–14 NET)

Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, (Hebrews 11:33 NET)

Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. (James 5:14–16 NET)

(See Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for a description of the promised blessings that are available to those that have accepted the last Adam – Jesus – as Savior and Lord of their lives).

Lastly, it is not a matter of having faith in our ability but rather having faith in His ability.  That is, faith in the completed work of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! (1)

yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:16 NET)

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NET)

keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NET)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. (John 1:1 NET)

Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NET)

Application Prayer

Heavenly Father, cause us to walk your walk as we walk, talk your talk as we talk, and think your thoughts as we think.  Cause our faith not to fail so we can bring glory to what you have already done in and through your Son – Jesus the Christ.  Amen.  (Based on Ezekiel 36:27, Luke 22:32).

Discover Prayer Series:

• We Must Ask
• Seek Only Our Heavenly Father’s Glory
• Pray the Promise, Not Just the Problem
• Pray in Faith
• Live a Lifestyle of Unconditionally Loving Others
• Have an Attitude of Gratitude
• Be Persistent
• Power Dressing for Prayer
• The Lord’s Prayer: The Outline for Prayer Given to Us by Jesus
• Intentionally Hearing God

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Shalom
(Security, Wholeness, Success)
Peace

Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 
(3 John 1:2 NET)

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(1) Select the link to open another article with additional information in a new tab.

(2) Adapted from a blog entitled “Revival!” by Peter Horrobin of Ellel Ministries

(3) Adapted from the video “Stepping into Your Destiny” by Otto Bixler of Ellel Ministries