Romans 14:1-2 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (2) For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.”
In this section we want to discuss the fact that believers operate at different levels of faith and they need to learn to pray accordingly. It is important to note that the type of prayer we are discussing in this series is called the prayer of faith; it is not called the prayer of great faith. So what do I mean by that statement? All believers are at different levels of faith, purely because we are all still growing spiritually. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul speaks about believers who are weak in faith, eating only vegetables, and believers who are strong in faith, eating all things. Nevertheless because both believers in this example are acting in accordance with their level of faith, both are pleasing God, for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). In the same manner, in our prayer lives we also operate at different levels of faith. For example, with regards to physical healing, one saint believes that God will heal them through the intervention of medical doctors, and therefore prays in faith for their medical procedure to go well so that they may recover from their illness. God hears that prayer and answers it because it was prayed in faith. Another saint believes that God can heal them through the laying on of hands of the elders and therefore prays in faith to receive their healing when hands are laid on them. God also hears that prayer and answers it because it was prayed in faith. The second believer in this example had the stronger faith of the two, but nevertheless both had their prayers answered because both prayed the prayer of faith. And so we see that God meets us at our level of faith. God can deal with every situation that believers find themselves in, but in order to do so, He requires us to ask in faith. And so we see that believers must recognise where their level of faith is before they pray and ask according to that. We can illustrate the point we are discussing in this section by looking at the following examples.
Mark 5:22-23 “And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet (23) and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that in order for Jairus’ faith to work, he needed Jesus to come to his home and physically lay His hands on his daughter. In other words Jairus was fully convinced in his mind that if Jesus would lay His hands on his daughter then she would be healed. And so if Jesus had simply spoken the word to Jairus to go his way because his daughter was healed, nothing would have happened, because Jairus’ faith could only be activated if he physically saw Jesus lay His hands on his daughter. If you read the rest of the account in scripture you will see that Jairus got exactly what he asked for, because Jesus went to his home and physically laid His hands on Jairus’ daughter, and she was raised from the dead and completely healed. In other words his prayer of faith worked.
Luke 7:6-10 “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. (7) Therefore, I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. (8) For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." (9) When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" (10) And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.”
In the second example quoted above, we see that in order for the centurions’ faith to work, all he needed was for Jesus to speak the word. In other words he was fully convinced in his mind that if Jesus would only speak the word, then his servant would be healed. And so whereas Jesus speaking the word to Jairus would have not worked for him, it did work for the centurion, because the centurion was operating at a higher level of faith. In fact Jesus acknowledged that the centurion was operating in great faith. Nevertheless the point remains, that both men received exactly what they asked for, because both men asked in faith, just at differing levels of faith. This is where many believers stumble, because they may hear about a fellow believer who received their miracle from God purely by believing His word and they think they can do the same thing. But if their faith is not at that level, then they will not be asking in faith and they will not receive from God. And so we can see that before believers pray the prayer of faith, they need to recognise what level of faith they are at and ask God at that level, because then they will be asking in faith, being fully convinced in their minds that God will answer their prayer and that is exactly what they will receive.
Michael E.B. Maher
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