Prayers of Faith
As we conclude our Bible Study on the comparison of the Gospels, I am once again struck by how similar they all are, and yet how different. It is these various similarities and differences that shout the truth of their authenticity. Should the story have been made up, they’d all have been much more identical. And had they not been so similar, we could have doubted their truth as well.
But one theme strikes me in many of the stories about miracles and prayer — true prayer is not an appeal FOR faith, but an expression OF faith.
Sometimes our prayers resemble a child’s plea for a new toy or a bowl of ice cream, “Please please please mommy may I…” There is almost an assumption is such pleas that the request will not be granted. When we pray for healing, or prosperity, or whatever is on our minds, are we praying with the confidence that God can and will respond positively to our prayers? Or does our prayer reflect our doubt that anything can or will be done? Are our prayers reflections of our faith in God, or our doubts?
When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, he acknowledged God’s will, “Not as I will, but thine be done.” Jesus submitted himself to the service of his father, though he knew that God would not make him go through with this trial if Jesus didn’t want to. Jesus knew God would have spared him. A few minutes later, when Peter tried to defend him, Jesus told him, “Put away your sword . . . Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52-53
In showing us how to pray, Jesus always demonstrated that pray arises out of faith. We should not beg God, nor tell God what to do, but in prayer we should be matching our wills to God’s will. If what we ask if not for our own selfish wants, but instead is for the glory of God,
“For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?" Matthew 7:8-9
Prayer should be an expression of our faith. When we plead with God, we express doubt, not faith. When a teenager asks a parent for the car keys, it is frequently phrased, “Please can I borrow the car keys?” When a spouse asks for the same thing, isn’t it more likely, “May I have the keys to the car.” In the first, we have a plea that is aware the request may not be granted, but hoping it will. In the second, there is the unspoken assurance that the request WILL be granted.
When we pray, pray with faith. Pray with boldness. Pray with assurance. God hears our faith!
. . . Clay
