Another great question from our global online tribe dropped into my email last night. A young woman asked me this: “Mark, how can I PRAY IN FAITH when I am unsure if my request in is God’s will?
My first point was that “faith in prayer” has nothing to do with OUR feelings over whether the request is or is not in God’s will. Our “faith in prayer” is having faith in GOD.
If we assume God cannot answer our prayers, we are questioning his omnipotence. If we assume God will not answer, we are questioning his mercy and grace.
In both cases, we have put faith in our own judgement, not in God.
Our faith zooms up if we THINK God can answer the prayer. But our faith plunges if we DECIDE God could never answer.
Two tracks emerge here: 1) CERTAINTY that God has made the outcome known; and 2) SUBMISSION when God has not disclosed the outcome.
When God has spoken a clear promise for all believers, we do not need to say, “IF it is in your will.” We can pray with CERTAINTY.
In this case, prayer is like a metal detector on the Bible’s vast beach of CERTAIN TREASURES that are just waiting to be discovered by us.
Faith in prayer is not a tool to obtain what we want. That means many situations call for our SUBMISSION to God’s uncertainty. It is a state of mind that aligns our petitions with God’s character.
Failure to SUBMIT in this way makes our faith in prayer a tool to gain something instead of looking to God’s love and grace as the gateway to answered prayer.
I ask God to continue to teach me how to pray and give me his perspective on praying in faith with certainty or submission.
WHAT ABOUT YOU
How would you describe “praying in faith” in your spiritual walk with God?
“No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
