24 Series Devotionals - Day 36
Seventh Principle of Powerful Prayer: Requires Faith
“In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.” (John 16:26-27)
Powerful praying requires faith. Faith in God, not faith in the request, nor faith in the person making the request.
Every now and then someone will come to me and say, “Pastor, I have a prayer request, and I need you to pray for me.” As if my prayers trumped other people’s prayers!
Naturally, I’m happy to pray for anyone who asks, but if I had a prayer concern, I would go to some of our older saints who have followed the Lord faithfully and have hammered out their prayer life on the anvil of personal need.
Powerful prayer requires faith. Romans 1:17 tells us that we grow in Christ from faith to faith. That means when we exercise faith in a situation we gain more faith for the next situation.
In Mark 9:14-24, we are told about a great act of faith. Jesus and nine of the disciples were surrounded by an agitated crowd. One in the crowd said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit that makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
Jesus asked, “How long has this been happening to him?” “From childhood,” came the answer. “If you can do anything, Jesus, take pity on us and help us!”
Jesus’ response was curious: “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.”
The father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
I don’t know about you, but I have been where that father stood. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Principle: If I want to pray powerfully, I must search out those areas in my life where I lack faith.
Do you need to ask yourself, “What keeps me from having the faith required to pray powerfully?”