Faith Check-Up: Learning to Trust God in Prayer

Faith Check Up

(Be sure to read to the end for a special announcement!)

Why do we not immediately and continually go to the Lord in prayer?

Could it be that we have the means to figure things out on our own? We know people…have money to hire people…have Youtube to see what other people have done…have counselors to talk to about it… We don’t feel the desperation the Israelites felt when there was genuinely no where else to turn.

Could it be that we don’t think it will matter? We have not trained ourselves to notice when God answers prayers. We neglect to look back at the “memorial stones” to see how He’s worked on our behalf in the past.

Could it be that we are impatient and give up before the answer comes? The Bible is clear that we must be persistent in prayer. A friend of mine always says, “Pray until the answer comes.” Sometimes God is working out the details so the prayer can be answered. Society has taught us not to be happy about waiting. The Israelites waited for forty years before their people entered the Promised Land. David waited for about 15 years before becoming King. Joseph waiting about 13 years in the pit and prison before His appointment came. Abraham and Sarah waited for 25 years after the promise before she had a baby. If you look at these examples, you see that God was doing something in the lives of these people during the waiting period. He was working things out, building character, teaching reliance on God, and on and on.

Why do you not immediately and continually go to the Lord in prayer? Is is that you can figure things out on your own? Is it that you do not think your prayers will matter or bring results? Is it that you are impatient and give up before the answer comes. Maybe it is time for a faith checkup. With a journal in hand, think back throughout your life and write down all the times you know God answered prayers or made His presence known in your life. Read through the Biblical examples mentioned above. Spend extended time praying for something or someone in your life. As you see the Lord work, it will increase your faith and cause you to more readily cast your cares upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). It will help you not to be anxious, but to pray and believe that the Lord can help you. This will lead to a stronger reliance upon Him and a faith that can move mountains.

Jesus often said it was faith that brought forth miracles. When he healed the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19, Jesus told one of the lepers his faith had made him well. In Matthew 9:20-22, Jesus told the woman with an issue of blood that her faith had made her well. In Mark 10: 46-52, Jesus told the blind man by the road that his faith had made him well. If you take a closer look at these examples, you will see they knew where to turn. The lepers lifted up their voices when they saw Jesus, knowing He could heal them. The woman with the issue of blood who knew she needed Jesus desperately sought to get closer to Him. The blind man cried out to Jesus despite being told by those around him to quiet down. Fast forward to a more recent prayer that was answered. David Wilkerson prayed two hours every night. The result was a ministry that reached countless youth for Christ in the streets of New York and now around the world!

You will develop your own list as you journal all the times when God answers your prayers.