Pray, Believing!
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, remind me of your love and grace. I know that when I am weak…you said I can be strong, by relying on your power and might. As I come to you in prayer, looking for answers, please strengthen my faith as only you can.
"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:6-8
REFLECT:
Having faith to believe for something in your life “can” be difficult. When we read the verses in James from yesterday, about “not asking with wrong motives,” and today’s verses commanding us to “believe and not doubt,” it can be a little intimidating. We tell ourselves, ‘I’m not a good enough person to have strong faith.’ ‘I can’t possibly reach heaven with my prayers with so little faith’…but what did Jesus say about that? In Matthew 17:20, NIV, he said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” What a great promise of hope! God doesn’t respond with “yes” to every request and prayer we lift up. Neither do you respond with “yes” to each request of your child. We trust God to know what is best for us and we believe he will answer us as it furthers his plan for our lives. Hebrews 11:6, NIV, says, “and 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.”
APPLY:
The verses in Hebrews 11 that follow verse six tell of the saints of the old testament who came to God in faith and how God answered them. Read through the rest of chapter 11 today and see how God has moved in his people through time. Be encouraged by the amazing wonders God ‘has’ done and ‘can’ still do in the lives of believers today! Take a moment to think of three or four big answers to prayer in your life (and I bet you can). I remember asking God to provide for my college and he miraculously did, allowing me to graduate debt-free! I remember how he turned the life of my youngest daughter around, where now she is one of the most evangelistic-minded young people today! Last night, that same daughter was on a trip and locked her keys in her car. They were in a large city, just her and another girl. She called AAA for help unlocking her car, but they said it would be two hours before they arrived. I prayed, and told her I was praying, that God would speed them up. Ten minutes later… she said they were coming in 30 minutes! God cares about our lives, our needs, our loved ones and he honors the faith we come to him with. Pray to him and believe!
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly father, I thank for your honoring your word and for hearing my prayers. You encourage us with that word. James 5:16, NIV, says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”