Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader,
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 6—The Prayer Of Faith
Prayer and Faith Will Do Wonderful Things—I fear that there is not that faith that is essential. Shall we not brace ourselves against disappointments and temptations to be discouraged? God is merciful, and with the truth rejoicing, purifying, ennobling the life, we can do a sound and solid work for God. Prayer and faith will do wonderful things. The Word must be our weapon of warfare. Miracles can be wrought through the Word; for it is profitable for all things.—(Evangelism, 489.) {Pr 53.4}
Faith to Be Mixed With Our Prayers—
The people of God must move understandingly. They should not be satisfied until every known sin is confessed; then it is their privilege and duty to believe that Jesus accepts them. They must not wait for others to press through the darkness and obtain the victory for them to enjoy. Such enjoyment will last only till the meeting closes. But God must be served from principle instead of from feeling. Morning and night obtain the victory for yourselves in your own family. Let not your daily labor keep you from this. Take time to pray, and as you pray, believe that God hears you. Have faith mixed with your prayers. You may not at all times feel the immediate answer; but then it is that faith is tried. You are proved to see whether you will trust in God, whether you have living, abiding faith. “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” Walk the narrow plank of faith. Trust all on the promises of the Lord. Trust God in darkness. That is the time to have faith. But you often let feeling govern you. You look for worthiness in yourselves when you do not feel comforted by the Spirit of God, and despair because you cannot find it. You do not trust enough in Jesus, precious Jesus. You do not make His worthiness to be all, all. The very best you can do will not merit the favor of God. It is Jesus’ worthiness that will save you, His blood that will cleanse you. But you have efforts to make. You must do what you can on your part. Be zealous and repent, then believe. {Pr 54.1}
Confound not faith and feeling together. They are distinct. Faith is ours to exercise. This faith we must keep in exercise. Believe, believe. Let your faith take hold of the blessing, and it is yours. Your feelings have nothing to do with this faith. When faith brings the blessing to your heart, and you rejoice in the blessing, it is no more faith, but feeling.—(Testimonies for the Church 1:167.) {Pr 54.2}
A prayer of faith does a believer good. There are times when we do not feel like praying, however, this is the time when we need to pray the most. If we make a sincere effort, God will hear and answer prayers and bestow His blessing in His time. Do not wait to feel like praying, go to God and you will receive comfort from the Spirit of God. Daniel faithfully prayed three times a day: evening, morning, and noon. This will keep your whole being in communion with the Spirit of God. Trust in Jesus, believe and be saved.
Our heavenly Father,
We come into Your presence believing, in faith, that You will hear and answer our prayers. We thank You for this privilege, honor, and opportunity to commune with You and receive Your Spirit. We pray Your Spirit leads us and guides us in the way we should go. We thank You for Thy word that is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. We thank You for our lifeline to heaven through prayer. Daniel, David, Elijah, Jacob, and other prophets are our example of fervent and persevering prayer. However, there is no greater example than You, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, You were in constant communion with the Father, even sweating great drops of blood. You gave all on our behalf to save us from sin. We pray that You help us overcome the evils and temptations of this world, even as You did. Help us not fall to the tempter, who roams around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Grant us Your strength and power to resist the feeling of not wanting to pray. Satan hates when we commune with You, he prefers to separate us from You by tempting us to sin against You. Help all to confess and repent of any sin, and pray for forgiveness of sin, the known and the unknown. Grant us desire and zeal in our prayer life like the prophets of old, and You as our great exemplar. Help us not to make excuses or let the busyness of our day get in the way of praying evening, morning, and noon. Help us not let our faith waiver, fulling trusting in You and Your wonderful promises. Comfort us, that we may comfort others in need of comfort. Let our faith take hold of all the blessings You have in store for us. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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