March 13th, 2017

                        Praying In Faith (Matthew 21:21)

Matthew 21:21, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If you have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”

Prayer is a major vehicle of faith. As we pray, trusting God and taking Him at His Word that faith can move God to move mountains. It is not prayer or faith that moves mountains. It is God. However, as we trust Him and His Word petitioning Him for help He can, and very well may, move the mountain before us. With God nothing is impossible. Faith is the handle to God’s promises. Faith channeled through prayer can move God to do the impossible, including moving mountains of whatever variety they might be.

During a time of great drought, the Scottish preacher, Dr. Guthrie, prayed for rain in the morning service. As he went to church in the afternoon, his daughter, Mary, said, “Here is the umbrella, Papa.” “What do we need it for?” he asked. “You prayed for rain this morning and don’t you expect God will send it?” They carried the umbrella and when they came home they were glad to take shelter under it from the drenching storm.

When we pray we should, first of all, pray that God's will would be fulfilled through our lives. We shouldn't pray simply to obtain things for ourselves, but we must pray according to God's will. God only wants what's best for us and we should pray for His will to be done.

How long has it been since God has answered a specific prayer request for you? God desires to meet our needs and show His power by answering our prayers, but so often we forfeit this blessing because we neglect our communication with God. Perhaps your hectic schedule has crowded out your daily prayer time. If so, it's time to make prayer a priority again. Your faith will become stronger and your walk with God closer as you see God answer your personal prayers.

Friend, many times the reason God does not give us the answer we want when we pray is because we are not praying correctly. We must make sure we are right with God before we pray. Is there unconfessed sin in your life? Confess that sin to God and let Him purify your heart before you pray to Him. Also, are you obeying His commands? We must be obeying Christ and following Him each day.

1. When we pray we should, first of all, pray that God's will would be fulfilled through our lives.
We shouldn't pray simply to obtain things for ourselves, but we must pray according to God's will. God only wants what's best for us, and we should pray for His will to be done.

2. We must obey God's commandments as we lay our requests before Him.
We must be obedient to Him and live according to His will. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." When we are following God's commands for our lives, our desires match up with His desires and our prayers are more effective because our requests are in line with His will.

3. We also must make sure there is no unconfessed sin in our lives.
Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." God will not hear our prayers if we are not right with Him! Before we come to Him in prayer, we must make sure our lives are free of any sin we have committed.

Take time today to make sure you are right with God. Make sure your requests to God are according to His will. Then pray and ask God in faith, believing that He will give it to you!

Prayer: Lord, today I will ask You for the things I need. In every situation, I will come to You in prayer. You know what I want, Lord, and more importantly You know what I need. And even though I know that You know, I still won’t be too hesitant or too busy to ask. Amen