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Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as the confidence and hope we have about things we don't yet see. It's like having the deed for a building you've never been to before. And yet you're not anxious because you know that the deed is in your name, so whether you see it or not is irrelevant. The building belongs to you.
When we understand faith this way, it's easy to see why Jesus taught believers to pray knowing that their prayer was answered and what they asked for was already theirs (Mark 11:24). Given His promises to answer the petitions of His disciples so they are proven to belong to Him and so He glorifies God, there is little room to fret that what is prayed for will be ignored (John 15:8). That is except when we have set up barriers to our prayers being answered.
Understanding this will help each of us have Resolute Faith - a dogged belief and confidence that God hears and answers our prayers. When we approach God and life with this perspective, we can stand firm as Isaiah 7:9 tells us. We won't be afraid of the "smoldering stubs of firewood" that God spoke of in Isaiah 7:4 - the issues and people that look like Goliath but are felled with a smooth rock that is our faith. We will also have the capacity to fix our faces like flint, as Isaiah 50:7 teaches.
Having Resolute Faith doesn't depend on how long or short prayers are. It isn't based on what church we attend or who our pastor is. Not even whether we fast or do so well. Resolute Faith relies chiefly on the truth of God's nature and His word. We have to see Him as capable and faithful. We have to know that He will honor His word and trust that He is a good Father who takes responsibility for those who qualify as His children.
And therein lies the issue - many of us believers don't yet understand who God truly is. You're probably countering that statement already, but please remember that the Book of Job starts with a testimonial that Job was a faithful servant of God (Job 1:8). Yet, by the last chapter, Job admitted that he thought he knew God but realized he was clueless (Job 42:5). If Job, a man so highly esteemed by the Lord that He boasted about him, could be so humbled, is it possible you don't quite know the nature of God as well as you think?
That said, life's struggles and disappointments have caused us to expect everyone to hurt us. And we tend to include the Lord in that group. There's a part of us that doesn't fully believe that He is on our side, working things out for our good because people we trusted proved disloyal and failed in their obligations to us. But God is not a man. He isn't a human being who can be unfaithful (Numbers 23:19). In fact, because He adores us, He has rigged life for us to succeed, and we are predestined to win through Jesus Christ.
If we don't believe this, it will not become our reality. This is because so much of the Christian walk depends on our thought life and what controls it - God's truth or satan's lies? What we meditate on will determine the sort of life we live. If God's truth is our bedrock, we increasingly experience the fullness of life that He promised in John 10:10. One way to shift our mindset is to spend more time with God's word as He pours out His love and emotions through it. The Bible reveals how much He cares and will go beyond expectations to bless and help us.
The more we discover God's true character and nature, the more we learn the ways that we don't resemble Him. Then we experience deliverance, favor, and restoration in His presence. As we transform for the better, we acknowledge and praise Him more. We increasingly appreciate Jesus for His sacrifice on our behalf and yield to the nudges of the Holy Spirit as He leads us in righteousness. Our testimonies will flow more readily, and we will treat others according to Jesus's Royal Law. And we become those who are unflinching, standing tall in Resolute Faith.
I hope to see you at Noon EST when we'll worship the Lord and pray for others. Till then, consider reading the Altar Call below plus the following related messages:
After six years of Praise & Pray posts, there have been some that proved more popular than others. And as we get closer to celebrating P&P 600, now is a great time to look at the most popular messages (by views).
I can't say why any post would be more viewed than another, but maybe you can look at the popular P&P posts and let me know what you think the reason is. Each post has a link to view the message either at Lipstick Alley (LSA) or on The Miracle Alley (TMA) site.