Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
In this section we want to discuss the importance of basing the prayer of faith on the promises of God. When our Lord Jesus taught us about the prayer of faith in the above quoted passage of scripture, He only emphasised faith as being the required condition to receive from God. Nevertheless it is important to note that we can only believe that God will perform that which He has promised in His word. In other words to try believing that God will perform something which He has not promised, is foolishness. The reason for that is because the faith that we have received from God is reliant on His word, for the scripture teaches us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). In other words without the word of God, or more specifically the promises of God, we have no foundation for our faith.
John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture we see our Lord teaching on the same subject of the prayer of faith; but on this occasion He taught us that in order to receive from God there are two conditions that must be met. The first condition is that we are to abide in Him, and the second condition is that His words are to abide in us. All believers abide in Jesus, and so all believers automatically meet the first condition. The second condition is not met automatically however, because it is reliant on the saints becoming acquainted with God’s word. The reason that Jesus taught us to have His words abide in us is because when we do that, our desires will line up with His word. And so we see that the desires that we ask for in faith will be according to His word, and it is those prayers that will be answered.
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
We have seen thus far that one of the keys to having the prayer of faith answered is to pray according to the promises of God revealed in His word. The above quoted passage of scripture explains why that is, for Paul teaches us in this passage that all the promises of God are ‘Yes and Amen’ in Christ Jesus. In other words Paul is teaching us that because we are in Christ Jesus, God will always answer our prayers when they are based on His promises. Clearly Paul is teaching us the same truth that Jesus taught us in the previous passage.
1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle John confirms the same truth that both Jesus and Paul taught, i.e. God answers prayers that are based on His promises. For in this passage John teaches us that to pray in line with the will of God, is to have the full assurance that our prayers will be heard by God. Someone asked, but how do we know what God’s will is? God reveals His will to us through His written word, and more specifically through the promises recorded in His word. And so we see that John is teaching us that by basing our prayers on the promises of God, we can be assured that God will hear those prayers. John goes on in this passage to declare that if we know that our prayers are heard, we also know that our prayers will be answered by God. In other words because the prayer of faith is based on the promises of God, the prayer of faith will always be answered.
James 4:1-3 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? (2) You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle James teaches us that we do not have because we do not ask. But he doesn’t stop there; because he goes on to tell us the reason why some of our prayers go unanswered. For he says that we ask and do not receive because our motivation is wrong, i.e. we are asking for things to spend on our pleasures. The pleasures that the apostle James is referring to in this passage are our fleshly desires. In other words James is saying that prayer requests made to God for the gratifying of our fleshly desires will go unanswered. Scripture teaches us to make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its desires (Romans 13:14). And so clearly if God instructs us to make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its desires, then He is certainly not going to answer any prayer requests for the gratifying of those same fleshly desires. In other words because these types of prayer requests are not in line with God’s word, they will go unanswered. Any natural parent will not give their children something that they have asked for; if they know that what they have asked for will harm them. Even if their children cry when they don’t get what they want, the parents stand firm in their decision because they know what is best for their children. God is a good Father, and as such, He will not give us anything that will harm our relationship with Him. Gratifying our fleshly desires will have the effect of drawing believers away from having a close relationship with the Lord, and so the Lord will not answer those prayers. And so we see that because these types of prayers are not based on God’s word, it would be impossible for the saint to pray the prayer of faith regarding this type of request.
2 Corinthians 13:1 "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."
We have seen in this section how important it is for the saints to pray the prayer of faith according to the promises of God. Because of this fact, it becomes important for the saints to become acquainted with the various promises of God that are recorded in scripture. For the saint to be sure that they are praying in line with God’s word, it is prudent to find more than one scripture that deals with the subject being prayed about. The reason we say that is because, as quoted in the above passage of scripture, the bible clearly teaches us that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established. So why is that necessary? It is necessary because it is possible to take one verse of scripture out of context, and thus mistakenly think that is praying in line with God’s word. Nevertheless if saints have two or more scriptures that promise the same thing, then they can be assured that they are praying in line with God’s will.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments