As our world turns on end with one of lifes many tragedies, many of us may find ourselves turning to a greater power for answers. When our problems and concerns become more than we can handle alone, there is no one friend more approachable than our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Although we know our own circumstances more intimately, we also at times may have the opportunity help our family, our friends, and our neighbors in their time of need.
When that time comes, how will you measure up to the task? Is your faith strong enough to support your beliefs and practices? Your son or daughter may have been brought up in the Christian faith, but over the years have gradually fallen by the wayside and drifted farther and farther from the church. You want to bring them back to the fold but you dont want to pester them so much that you drive the wedge ever deeper; so you pray for them. But do you pray with a true belief that your prayers will make a difference? How do you pray with the kind of faith that makes a prayer successful?
The Bible teaches us.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much. (James 5:15,16)
Faith is the fervent belief that our Lord will answer our prayers. We must, however, remember that we ask these things in Gods name and it is His will be done, not ours. Know that he will answer your prayers, but not always in the way that we expect. It may not happen today or tomorrow; we must keep in mind that a hundred years in our eyes is but the blink of an eye in Gods. We also must keep in mind that God knows our hearts and our minds; he knows what is best for us and it may not necessarily be what we wish for.
I heard a tale once about a young man who, after his father died, went down to a church that his father visited every Sunday just to see what compelled his father to go there so faithfully. After listening to the emotional sermon, the sons eyes filled with tears as he walked to the altar to be saved that night. After receiving the pastors blessing, the young man told the pastor that he had come only to see why his father came. The pastor smiled as he said, Son, your father has come here for the past fifteen years and prayed faithfully every Sunday that his son would seek salvation through our dear Lord and Christ."
We must never allow our disappointments in life to cause us to lose faith. Faith is the one constant that will see us through and disappointments can serve to strengthen our resolve. Fifteen years may seem like a very long time for a prayer to be answered, but time is never the issuefaith is the issue. The power of faith, true faith, is what will answer our prayers.
As you pray today, whether for yourself or someone else, think about your faith in that prayer and pray from the heart. Put your faith in your prayer and your problems in Gods hands. Do you really believe that God will answer your prayer or are you just going through the motions? Put all your trust in God for without trust in God we cannot have the fervent faith that is the basis and power of our prayers.
Sandra E. Graham, author, AMOS JAKEY and NICOLINA, published by American Book Publishing. Visit my website: www.sandragraham-articles-books.com
» left by susan thom from nj (1 year 75 days ago.)
hi sandra,
beautifully written, and "ditto" from me.
faith and prayer are helping me immensely right now,
and i'm praying from the heart, and also remembering
to thank God, and my angels, and spirits, and partner
and kids and friends for being a source of contentment.
thank you for a great article,
best regards,
sue thom Respond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (1 year 75 days ago.)
Sandra, great article. You are a very good writer, this one has lifted my spirits. Thanks for the good work in Christ. Best regards, Venessa Wallis Respond to this comment
» left by Teresa Ortiz(5,727) Teresa Ortiz (1 year 23 days ago.)
Hi Sandra, Amen and Amen! God's timing is perfect. The James passage you mentioned is my personal claim for many situations. It was mine when I prayed for my husband. He came to know the Lord 11 years after I did. I prayed believing it would happen. I know it took so long because God was preparing me to be the wife that a Godly husband would need. (read my article "Submit" if you haven't already) I've learned to pray for God's cleansing in my heart first so that my prayers are from pure motives and not selfish motives. Thanks for the reminder. You said it well! Teresa Respond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (176 days 19 hours ago.)
Thank you Sandra for a touching and very important article. Please keep up the good work for the body of Christ.
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