But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. –James 1:6
One of my favourite quotes reads, “Doubt kills prayer like water douses fire.” When was the last time you prayed for something and had no doubt that God would answer? Yesterday, we discussed praying according to His will, and today we are going to look at the importance of coupling those prayers with unwavering faith.
As I write this, I cannot help but think about the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:24-34. She had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, and she already spent everything she had on doctors, but she only got worse. You would think that after twelve years of dealing with her illness, she would have lost hope and given up, but she did not. A woman in her situation was considered unclean and literally had to confine herself so as not to touch anything or anyone to make them unclean; she had probably lived this way for twelve years. When she heard about Jesus, it was as if she got a new lease on life. In Mark 5:27, we read, When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd, and thought, “If I just touch the hem of His clothes, I will be healed.” This woman had so much faith that she was willing to risk going against the cultural rules concerning her situation. When Jesus realized what happened, he turned to her and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Did you know that faith makes things happen? When Jesus found out that Jairus’ (a ruler of the synagogue) daughter was dead (see Luke 8:40-55), He said to him, “Don’t be afraid, just believe, and she will be healed.” Prayer is such a powerful force and when coupled with faith, it makes things happen! The enemy would stop at nothing to hinder us from faith filled prayer, but it is up to us to fight through the discouragement and utilize this incredible weapon of warfare.
We cannot talk about faith and not discuss the Shunammite woman n 2 Kings 4:8-37. She had an older husband and was barren, but she and her husband were very hospitable to Elisha, the man of God, every time he came to their town. Elisha was so grateful that the prayed that God would bless them with a son, and He did. A few years later, the boy got sick and died. When the Shunammite woman found out, she took the boy up and laid him in Elisha’s bed, and then decided to go out to find Elisha who was not home at the time. As she was walking out, her husband asked her why she was going to find Elisha, and she said, “It is alright.” When she got to Elisha, his servant Gehazi ran to her and asked, “Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?” “Everything is all right,” she said. But then she went to Elisha and took a hold of his feet saying, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I tell you, don’t raise my hopes? Then she said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” She knew that if Elisha could pray and move the Lord to make a barren woman the mother of a child, he could certainly pray to raise that child back to life. She didn’t even bother talking to anyone else about the problem because she knew that they could not do anything and might even hinder her faith, so she went straight to the man of God in faith that he could make things happen, and would not leave him until her son was healed.
Faith makes things happen! Faith looks at the impossible and says; with God all things are possible! Faith looks at situations through the eyes of God. Faith realizes that God can do all things, and it sees devastating situations as opportunities for God to be glorified. Do you have this kind of faith? Or have you been dousing your prayers with doubt?
Grace and peace be with you.
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IT MAKES THINGS HAPPEN!