Key 6 & Key 7

Key 6: Seek God’s Will

Another  key to successful prayer  is to be absolutely  sure that—as  far as possible—you  align your will and your requests with God’s will. As you zealously study the Bible and yield to let Christ live within you, His will increasingly replaces your own. It affects how you pray. You come to realize that  God has made all men and women in His image—that He will “call” all mankind  to understanding and repentance  in His time. With this in mind, you will not be praying just for your own good, but for the good of others  as well. Then you can sincerely say to God, as Jesus did: “not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Remember this key phrase from the outline prayer in Matthew

6: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 10). We all need to focus on this as we pray. What  is really best for us and everyone concerned in the long run? Only God knows for sure.

On the  other  hand,  the  Bible contains  literally dozens  of promises and direct indications  of what God has done or will do in regard to answered prayer. If we pray in faith that God will hear us—and in accordance with His will—we may be sure that He is lis- tening.  “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything  according  to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15).

Key 7: Have Faith in  God

The more you drink in of the Bible, the more deeply you will realize the importance  of faith. “Without  faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews

11:6).

So you cannot  please God without  real faith. And, generally speaking,  the  Bible makes it clear that  God will not  hear  and answer your prayers unless you come to Him in faith: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man sup- pose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6–7).

Like the other keys we have examined, building faith is accom- plished by truly surrendering to let Jesus Christ live His life in you through the Holy Spirit! “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So all of us need to constantly read the Bible, and drink in of the examples of faith and obedience set by the great men and women of God. In this way, we “feed” on Jesus Christ (John 6:57). We come to think like He thinks, want what He wants. And, through  the Holy Spirit, He increasingly lives within us as we grow spiritually.  Thus united  with Christ,  we can have total confidence that  God the Father  will hear our prayers. And this absolute, unwavering confidence in God is what faith is!

Note carefully this vital teaching of Jesus Christ with respect to prayer and faith: “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,  ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things  you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:22–24).

     By continually  drinking  in of the Bible and praying for faith, you will find that  your  faith will increase  more  and  more. Understand  that living faith is produced by God’s Holy Spirit with- in us (Galatians 5:22–23). And Jesus said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,  how much  more will your heavenly Father  give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).

God wants to give you these  things  if you humbly  ask for them. So pray to Him continually  to give you the faith you need. Learn to believe in the promises of God. Learn to believe that God is real—that  He has perfect wisdom,  perfect love and  perfect power. Realize that He will keep all His promises! Learn to imitate Abraham, the father of the faithful (Romans 4:16), for he “did not waver at the promise of God through  unbelief, but was strength- ened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (vv. 20–21). This is real faith. This is the attitude you must have to receive gen- uine answers to your prayers.