Do You Believe?

When the Lord first made it clear that I was to make a concerted effort to pray for this area (Forsyth County, North Carolina,) I thought I was ready to pray. As I prepared for this assignment, though, the Lord used the following passage of Scripture to get me to the place I only thought I already was:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV), “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

I was challenged, before I even started praying, about whether I really believed that my prayers would make a difference. I had no problem believing the second part of this verse – that God would hear from heaven and forgive our sin and heal our land. What about the first half of the verse? Did I really believe that my praying would bring about this kind of humbling in His people, so that we would seek His face and repent? Did I believe it, or just wish for it?

Rom 14:23b (AMP) “. . . For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].”

Mark 11:24 (NIV) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

The Lord reminded me of the story of Abraham, who received the promises of God when there was no natural reason to believe them. He believed anyway, for many years, even when things seemed hopeless in the natural. Did he believe and wait perfectly until he saw the promise with his natural eyes? No, but the Lord didn’t give up on him. He is remembered, even in the New Testament (Heb. 11:11-12), despite his human weaknesses, for believing until that life-forming power of God took hold in him, and then the promise was born!

The Lord knew what He wanted to do through me during this season of prayer, and He knew it required me to pray from a higher place of faith. Actually, He wanted to raise me up to a place of greater effectiveness in all my prayers. Have I held on perfectly to that place of faith He drew me to at that time? I, too, have had moments – even seasons – when I wondered, doubted, and tried to figure out how it (whatever “it” might be at the time) could ever happen. The Lord hasn’t given up on me any more than He did Abraham, praise His Name! In those times, He reminds me that because the same Life-Giver is at work in me, there can be a life-changing blessing every time I pray. It’s the same for you, fellow prayer warriors. Just remember that the bottom line is praying in faith, believing God will (not just that He can), in order to receive the answer for which we pray. (Matt 21:22)

Father, stir us up to believe Your Word in the very depths of our beings. Help us see those places where we haven’t been in faith, or where our faith has grown weak, so that we can give them back to You in exchange for Your perfect faith within us. We want to believe, Lord. And we want to pray in faith, believing, because we want to be Your vessels for effective prayer with eternal results. It’s in the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

© Copyright 2005 Kay V. Stocking