Yesterday included brief visits at our church brunch and a longer talk afterward while my hubby led the cleanup crew. These conversations involved prayer requests. Some were stated as such and others came to me as I listened to what friends were saying.
Today’s reading is about prayer and that Jesus tells us that when we “pray according to our faith it will be done to us” (Matthew 9:29) It has taken me many years to grasp the importance of what He is saying.
Faith is about believing what God says. So if I am praying according to my faith, that prayer must be based on what He says. Knowing the Word of God and praying accordingly, becomes the foundation and motivation for prayer, and includes one vital factor — I must believe what He says.
This isn’t about salvation faith, the belief in the gospel that gives me forgiveness and eternal life, but the faith that God is powerful and has a redemption plan for this world. This faith is general in that I believe God can make things happen, but specific in that I can pray specifically as long as my requests fit with what He reveals in His Word to me.
My first example is humorous, at least now. Many years ago our family was camping in a tent and a bear came to our campsite. It was night and the bear was bold. He kept running to our tent door. My hubby could smell its breath. My prayer? All I could think of was the words to an old song, “Lord, You saved Daniel from the lion’s den. For goodness sake do something about that bear.”
He did. Some very inebriated campers came and chased it away. Odd angels but when the shadow of the bear appeared on the side of our tent a few hours later, we were not afraid. God was with us… and I now realize my prayer had scriptural precedence — the story of Daniel.
Last month on the day our family reunion was going to begin, I was driving to the venue, pleased that God had cleared the smoky sky and lowered the temperature from very hot to normal. Much prayer for that as we had wildfires and a long heatwave that threatened our enjoyment of this event. But the wind was about 50 km and grass almost flat in the ditch. Jesus could command the wind, so I asked Him to do it and within a few minutes, it stopped. The weather that weekend was perfect.
I’m beginning to see the connection between faith and answered prayer. It isn’t just faith that God can do it, but faith based on His character and actions as revealed in the Bible. Applying this today, I can pray for the requests from yesterday. One involves a young person straying from her faith and letting weeds grow in her life, weeds that are choking her from being fruitful. Jesus talks about such an environment in the parable of the sower.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)Jesus exposes her problem. She is being choked or inhibited by worldly cares. The idea of being rich has also captivated her heart, is easy to see in conversations with her. She needs prayer that recognizes and resists these weeds. Jesus likens the heart’s need to be cleared from anything that prevents weeds from growing. Faith in His words helps me know how to pray.
Another request involved family rifts. I also know from the stories of Jacob vs. Esau and Joseph vs. his brothers that God wants family reconciliations, particularly between brothers. Also, the story of the prodigal tells how one came home to a brother who was not happy to see him. This was not God’s will. He wanted both brothers to be more like their father who patiently waited for both to live in love and truth, not in resentment and greed. From the Word of God, my faith tells me how to pray.
PRAY: And Jesus, I go now to pray for these people and for the other things You have put on my heart and on my prayer list. I know Your heart for lost souls and need to pray according to Your heart, not my “I wants” but faith that You will answer according to Your wants and Your plan. Grant me both faith and wisdom as I pray.
No comments:
Post a Comment