The Prayer of Faith
Prayer is a discipline seen in all religions. Prayer is communication. It is a way of connecting with God. Prayer is also taught. The disciples of Jesus observed that the followers of John the Baptist prayed in a certain way and that the Pharisees had their way of praying, so one day they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This resulted in what we have come to know as the “The Lord’s Prayer”. Jesus’ teaching on prayer didn’t stop there. All through the time of Jesus’ ministry here on the earth, He was teaching His disciples how to please the Father and how to connect with Him. In this way, prayer became more than a religious exercise that one does, but a life-style in relating to God. Thus, prayer became an expression of thanksgiving, intercession, supplication and faith. (I Tim. 2.1-2)
Jesus was quick to affirm when someone “got it”; when someone connected with the Divine purpose and Person. He was especially, pleasantly surprised when this connection happened with those outside the community of Israel. Matthew writes of one such occasion when a Roman centurium implored Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus was willing to go to his house and heal this man, when the Roman soldier interrupted Him and said that he was not worthy to have Jesus come into his home, but rather asked Him to just say the Word and his servant would be healed. This man understood how authority worked and knew that a command from Jesus was enough for the healing to be happen. Jesus was amazed and said that He had not found this kind of faith in all of Israel.
In word and deed, Jesus taught His disciples how to exercise their faith. He knew that without faith it was impossible to please the Father, so on every occasion, Jesus would evaluate the level of their faith and show them how to increase their faith. Faith is like a muscle. It must be fed and exercised to become strong. Just as we didn’t create our muscles, we don’t create our faith. It is given to us by God. All we must do is exercise them. We do this by declaring what we believe. The woman, who was suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years, said to herself: “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” (Mat. 9.21) As soon as she touched the hem of Jesus’ robe, she was healed. Jesus knew that virtue had gone from Him and He turned to see who had touched Him. Many had touched Him, but only one had touched Him with faith. Jesus looked at her and said: “Daughter, take courage, your faith has made you well.” (v.22)
The prayer of faith is more of a declaration of belief than a request. By faith, the same, and even greater, works that Jesus did, the disciples could do. Faith elevates you from the natural world of reason to the spiritual realm where everything is possible. Jesus taught His disciples to have faith in God. (Mark 11.22) The italicized, “in” was added by translators, seeking to make sense of this expression. Literally it reads: “Have faith God”, or “Have God faith”. Then, in verse 23, it explains this God kind of faith. “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he speaks is going to happen, it will be granted him.’” Do you see how faith works? “You call into being what does not exist.” (Rom. 4.17) “The word of faith is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” (Rom. 10.8) You declare what the Word has said is true. This is your confession and connection with God. This is your prayer.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Mark 11.22-23; James 5.15; Rom. 4.17; I Tim. 2.1-2; Heb. 11.1, 6; Mat. 8.5-13