Faith and Prayer

By Janice Harley

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’”—Mark 11:20-26 (NIV)

Prayer is a mystery. When I was a child, I used to  question, “If God already knows the future, and He already knows what’s going to happen, and He already knows the words that I’m going to say even before I say them, then why do I need to pray?”

Prayer is critical to our faith and to our relationship with Jesus. As we enter the presence of the Lord and pray, our faith is strengthened and grows. We begin to develop an expectation of who He is and what He can and wants to do for us. It is when we truly pour our heart out to God in prayer, that we become in awe of who God is. Because of prayer, our love for Jesus abounds, we draw close to Him, and we realize the power and necessity of our prayers. That’s also when we begin to realize we can’t conquer a situation or the enemy by ourselves—we need Him. This is how we fight our battles!

Beth Moore said, “There are parts of our calling, works of the Holy Spirit, and defeats of the darkness that will come no other way than through furious, fervent, faith-filled, unceasing prayer.” This type of praying requires time and our complete focus and attention. We must bring passion and intensity in our efforts as we call on the Lord.  Surely, He deserves nothing less from us.

I remember years ago when my younger brother, after he had turned his teenage life around and come back to the Lord, was reflecting on his wild and rebellious years. He asked my mom, “How come you always treated me so good during those years?” And she answered, “I always tried to treat you like the son I knew you were and who I prayed you would be—the godly young man I desired you to become. I treated you like you had already attained it.” She was able to put her faith into action because she furiously and fervently prayed faith-filled prayers!  

God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.—John Wesley

“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”—Mark 11:24 (NIV) 

We must have faith and pray without doubting. This only comes by knowing who God is and what He’s capable of doing! When we ask for something that lines up with the Word of God, then we know God will faithfully answer that prayer!

Let’s go fight our battles on our knees!

Pause: Girls, take a moment to think about these truths about prayer! What is it that you are asking God for? Do you believe you’ve received it? 

Practice: Write out a faith-filled prayer. Put it in a visible place to remind you to pray. Then believe that He hears you and will answer your prayer.

Pray: Dear God, thank You for showing me where my faith needs to grow. Help my unbelief. Thank You that your Word says whatever I ask for in prayer, if I believe that I have received it, it will be mine. Thank You that You hear and answer prayers. Thank You that You are the same miracle-working God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.