In Everything by Prayer

DAY 29

Faith is the victory...

WITHOUT FAITH IMPOSSIBLE

"Without faith it is impossible to please him ..." Without faith there can be no prayer, no matter how great the helplessness. But helplessness coupled with faith makes prayer effective. Without faith our helplessness would raise but a vain cry of distress in the night. Every man and woman of prayer will appreciate this vital aspect of prayer.

God's Word has important instruction about "faith praying" if we expect to be heard. Our Lord says to us, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee" (Matt 8:13 ). The same hour his prayer was answered. To those making request to God in prayer, James the Apostle says, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" (James 1:6 ).

The question is, "How can we be sure that we are praying in faith? Is there some outstanding or extraordinary thing that we must do to ensure that our prayer is in faith?" The simple answer is, we must "Turn our eyes upon Jesus." In our helplessness, let us always look to Jesus. Let us turn to Him with our whole heart and mind, casting all our care upon Him, for He careth for us (1 Pet 5:7 ). Our faith is not in how much we try, but how much we trust. Therefore, look to the Lord!

He stands at the door and knocks (Rev 3:20 ). Our opening the door to Jesus is an evident act of faith. When we invite Him into our hearts, we are committing ourselves to His wonder-working power. But let us not have the false conception that our faith helps Jesus meet our need. Our Lord does not need our help. All He needs is our open door. Our faith is not to make Jesus more attentive to our situation or to become more helpful. Our Lord is always concerned for our welfare. All along He has been interested in us. He cares, but He cannot gain admittance until we fully open the door. This is our act of faith.

QUESTION: Does unanswered prayer mean "lack of faith"?

PRAYER: Lord, increase my faith in Thee.