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, NKJV)
MORNING DEVOTION- "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)
Scripture Reading: Mark 11:22-24
When we first came to Christ, we came praying the prayer of faith. We believed first, and then we received. Our first step into this wondrous relationship was a small, childlike step of faith; and every time we take another believing step, we demonstrate our trust in God. Faith is the foundation of our spiritual walk. It (or He) is the immovable, solid ground beneath our feet. "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" (Isaiah 7:9b).
Our rock solid foundation in the faith is the belief that God exists, and that nothing is impossible with God. He has nothing but our good and His glory in mind when we come to Him. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). The Hall of Faith, in the Book of Hebrews, is filled with the names of servants who displayed faith in God with their actions, and whose prayers of faith moved God's hand to accomplish extraordinary things (reference Hebrews 11:1-40).
The Lord desires to protect our faith; without faith we will lack the confidence we need to pray. When Jesus warned Peter that the enemy wanted to sift him as wheat, He expressed His desire to guard His faith by offering these encouraging words, "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:31-32). The enemy's great desire is to rob us of our faith and plant within our mind seeds of doubt that we might question God's ability to answer our prayers. Jesus made it known that we protect our faith when we pray. "Get up and pray so you will not fall into temptation" (Luke 22:46). If the enemy can tempt us away from prayer, then he can successfully rob us of our faith. We should be encouraged to know our Savior is interceding on our behalf. He is praying for our faith to remain strong, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to build us up in the faith through His Word. When our Lord returns He wants to find faith on the earth (reference Luke 18:8). This should encourage us to not lose heart, but to keep the faith by praying!
Heavenly Father,
I want to please You with my faith,
and I know now that I demonstrate that when I pray.
Our greatest sin is our unbelief,
a seed we've allowed the enemy to sow
while we've been sleeping rather than praying.
Wake Your Church up from our slumber to recognize
how vital it is that we take up our positions in prayer.
May we not fail You again in this most
urgent hour of need.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
As we meditate on today's Scripture we might ask ourselves if our faith has grown stronger over the years since we first trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Do we truly believe that nothing is impossible with God? Will we be able to stand firm in the faith when the love of many begins to grow cold (reference Matthew 24:10-13), believing that God will indeed prove Himself faithful to the end? We need to pray, more than ever, just as our Lord is continually interceding for us, that the faith of His children will remain strong as wickedness increases and the enemy is relentless in his attacks to tempt many away from the faith. Let us intercede for our brothers and sisters in the faith today, "being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18b); and pray that they will remember the solid foundation they stand upon, and their faith will not be shaken, even though the world is shaking around them.
AFTERNOON DEVOTION -"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice" (Psalm 55:17 KJV).
Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:17-21
Our heavenly Father desires for His children to come to Him believing and not doubting (reference Matthew 21:21). "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6). We can believe and have confidence when we pray because our faith has an object. Jesus said to have faith "in God". The object of our faith, as we've discussed these past couple of days, is a benevolent heavenly Father who desires to give us all good things. We simple need to believe that He is all and can do all, and then ask of Him what He alone can do - all things!
Our ability to believe God has nothing to do with the size of our faith, instead it has everything to do with the size of our God. Jesus said that all we need is faith "as small as a mustard seed" to accomplish extraordinary and impossible things for His kingdom. E.M Bounds has said, "Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God." The more time we spend with God in His Word and in prayer, the more aware we become of His greatness, His goodness, and His holiness. The greater He becomes, the less we have to fear, and the more confidence we have to ask - and to ask boldly for greater things; believing our Father will hold nothing back from us so that His kingdom purposes would be accomplished in this earth.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that when You look at my heart
You would be able to say of me (as You did the centurion),
"I have not found such great faith as this."
My faith rests in You - with You is all power;
I pray You will unleash Your power
through my prayers that many would
come to believe in You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen
What obstacles are standing in your way, and blocking your view of the greatness of your God? So often the obstacle in our way is ourselves. When we humble ourselves before God, we become less so He can become more. Submit your fears to your heavenly Father, and pray with confidence believing He can do the impossible. Believe that it is His will to do extraordinary things in and through your life, if you will simply have faith and not doubt, "for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27b). Take a good look at your prayer list today and identify those people who are giants standing in your way, and those circumstances that are mountains keeping you from reaching your goals. Ask God to give you the eyes of faith to see them from His perspective - as the way He is growing you in your faith and leading you to deeper dependence upon Him in His Word and in prayer. Praise Him for the challenges and difficulties in your life that are requiring you to pray more, and increasing your faith in Him as the faithful Father who can do the impossible. Pray for the many others on your list and in your heart that they will not doubt God's great love for them, and be willing to believe that He wants to do the impossible in their life, too.
EVENING MEDITATION -"...and on His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:2)
Scripture Reading: Romans 4:20-21
When we pray we should do so believing that God will fulfill what He has promised. To know God's will and His promises we must become diligent students of His Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us to those deeper truths, and then activate His truth in our life through our prayers. Abraham provides a perfect example of one who exhibited true faith with complete confidence in God's ability to do what He had promised. "...being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised" (Romans 4:21). God, alone, is our confidence when we pray. We bring our Father great pleasure when we exercise faith believing that He will do what He has promised and give whatever we ask.
Heavenly Father,
I don't want to put limits on what You can do.
Increase my faith through constant prayer
and help me to daily trust in You.
Help me to take each step with confidence
as I obey Your call to take up my cross and follow You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
We bring glory to God when we place our faith and trust in Him. "Perfect faith says it's as good as done." May we not waiver in faith, as we submit our prayers to the object of our faith, being confident that our heavenly Father will answer and fulfill His promises for our good and His glory. The Lord has given us these 40 days as a gift to lead us into His presence and peace, so we will surrender all the uncertainties and impossibilities of our present circumstances and develop a deeper trust in the One through whom "all things" are possible - if we will simply believe. Let us, therefore, pray for the confidence to go and do as Abraham did; and "not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthen in faith giving glory to God, and being fully convinced of what He had promised He was also able to perform."
