Prayer #3

Books and seminars often discourage prayer more than they encourage it.

Many who teach others about prayer do not understand what prayer is and with the best intentions, make it too complicated and restrictive, and the student is discouraged about prayer. Conditions to answered prayer and hindrances to prayer are usually a large part of the lesson. Of course there are conditions and hindrances to prayer, but the focus ought to be on prayer and not on reasons why you should not pray. Not unlike God’s plan of salvation, prayer is a simple concept. We humans make it complicated and difficult to understand.

For example, I have had many people tell me that they would come to church and become a Christian “when I feel like I can live it.” At best that is a foolish and ignorant statement and at worst a wicked excuse for rejecting Christ. The exact reason Christ died for the ungodly, (Rom 5:6), is because we can not “live it”. Through the gospel of Christ God makes wicked sinners His children. They do not reform and then are accepted as sons. In much the same way a Christian may say “I would pray but I don’t have enough faith”. God never says anywhere to muster up faith and then pray, He just commands us to pray.

This naturally will raise the question about conditions to answered prayer. Matt 21:22 says “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” You might say now “Ok Mr. Smarty, what about that verse“? And I say to you , the fact that you pray at all shows some measure of faith. Do not worry about your lack of faith, just pray anyway.

A man came to Jesus and said “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24) If you read this passage you will see that although the man had some doubts, he got his prayer answered anyway and his boy was healed by Jesus!

Those who met in Mark’s mother’s house to pray for Peter to be released from prison had enough faith to pray, but not enough to believe it was Peter at the door after God had miraculously released him from prison! You can read this humorous story in Acts 12. Yes, people with only enough faith to pray often get great results!

Jesus taught that faith “as a grain of mustard seed” would be enough to move a mountain! (Matt 17:20) A mustard seed is very, very small but that little faith, just enough possibly for you to pray, is enough to get an answer.

None of us have perfect faith. However, each of us can have some faith, and some is enough to do business with God in prayer. If you believe God enough to ask you might have enough to get what you need.

Romans 10:13,14 teaches that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord “ will be saved. “Calling” implies belief. Verse 14 says “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” So I think it is reasonable to ask, why would you pray if you don’t believe there is a God, and that He hears and answers prayer? Don’t trouble yourself with conditions, just pray.