Are we praying with faith?
Faith has nothing to do with answered prayer. Faith is the conviction of things unseen. Faith is the assurance that a loving, personal God exists and because of that certainty we strive to live a life that will be pleasing to him.
A faithful prayer begins with asking to be in God’s will.
Prayer is not like putting a nickel in a gum machine, twisting a handle, and then waiting for the gum to pop out. Asking God for a yellow bicycle is similar to mailing a list of Christmas wishes to the North Pole.
God is not Santa Claus and treating God as if he were cheats us out of the treasured relationship we can have with him.
Prayer is not a numbers game. Notre Dame’s football victory over Southern Methodist University has nothing to do with who has the most people praying for success. Notre Dame wins because their players are bigger, stronger, and faster. (Winning coaches pray like God decides victories and they recruit like he doesn’t.)
Can we receive what we ask in prayer? Yes. But a relationship with God comes first. Prayer allows us to develop a special bond with God that enables us to live the life he desires for us.
As we gradually, progressively develop a deep, abiding commitment to God we feel His presence in all that we do. When we begin to pray as he wants us to pray, when we become aligned with his will he begins to answer our prayers.