Really Believing When We Pray for Others

Really Believing When We Pray for Others

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith and not by sight.”  What he is saying is that we are not to live by (in reliance upon) our five senses and our human reason (what the Bible calls sight) but by a certain trust (faith) in the existence of an unseen God.  This profession of trust also recognizes this unseen God is essentially good, faithful, loving, gracious, all-powerful Father.  We also accept the certainty His Word cannot fail and the realization that we have been created for an eternal purpose.  This is not always as easy as it sounds, we all know, but it is absolutely essential that we live in this way if we are to enter, walk in and experience the kingdom of God on earth.

There is a very challenging passage of Scripture where Jesus calls us to put all these things together and to pray in faith, pray expectantly that we will receive what we ask for.  In Mark 11:22-24, God has given us instructions that He expects us to follow if we are going to receive the miracles, or answers to prayer, that we seek.  They are instructions that come from the mouth of Jesus Himself.  Jesus says, “Have faith in God.  Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘be taken up and cast in the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted to him.  Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted to you” (Mark 11:22-24)

If we were to break these verses down Jesus first establishes the principle “have faith in God.”  The verb is an imperative (exete), command, and could be translated to have or to hold.  It is also possible to translate the remainder of the Greek phrase here “faith of God” or the genitive expression “God’s faith.”  We are therefore commanded to have/hold the faith of God (God’s faith/the God kind of faith), a translation that would emphasize the fact that faith is a gift of God and distinct in quality from our faith.

It may also be worth noting that the words “faith” and “believe” though seemingly very different in English, share the same Greek stem pist, pistis and pisteuo.  Faith is the noun form and believing is the verb form of the same idea.  To have faith is to believe.

Jesus then goes on to describe what this God kind of faith is like

1. Believes what it says

2. Believes without any doubting

3. Believes in spite of delays, circumstances (present tense)

4. Believes it has received, without proof or evidence (aorist, past tense)

The question for us is with the teaching so clear, and the benefits so great, and the consequences so severe, why don’t we do it?  Why don’t we live by faith and not by sight?  Why don’t we pray believing the mountain is going to move?

I don’t have all the answers, in fact, I have more questions than I have answers, but I think I have gained some insight into one aspect of this struggle.  And I do believe that the walk of faith can be a struggle at times.  There are enemies to a life of faith, the enemies of fear, doubt, and unbelief to name a few.  They are enemies that present themselves at times of pain, disappointment and honest questioning.

• We pray for a loved one’s salvation

• We pray for a loved one’s physical healing

• We pray for financial provision

• We pray for healthy marriages

• We pray for physical protection

• We pray for the unborn, the disadvantaged, widows and orphans

We pray for good things, we pray for Godly things, we pray the Scriptures, we pray in faith, we fast and pray, we tell others and they fast and pray.  And in the end people die, people go lost, people go broke, the world seemingly continues its downward spiral and we wonder what’s up with that?

In over 25 years of vocational ministry I probably haven’t had a handful of honest conversations about what do you do with the disappointment, what you do with the doubt, how do you ask and pray in faith in the face of so many unanswered prayers.  And yet looking back I know that there have been many who gave up their faith in a time of trial or best case put their faith on cruise control because they couldn’t make sense of the world around them and what was happening in their lives.  Not really in and not really out, just kind of there.

In the fall of 2007, I ran across a message by Pastor Bill Johnson, pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.  Pastor Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor coming out of the Assemblies of God tradition.  He and his congregation have experienced a significant amount of physical healing, though even his own father died a difficult death after they had declared their city a cancer-free zone.  He has, I believe, some helpful suggestions when it comes to maintaining a position of Biblical faith.

1. Refuse to become offended at the Father (God) over what He has not done.  Tell Him what you think, tell what you feel but refuse to become offended.  Resolve in your heart that you will not accuse God.

2. Give up your right to understand why and how this thing happened. We need to recognize that faith does not come because we know or because we understand.

3. Feed on what God is doing and what He has done, rather than on what He hasn’t done.

4. Resolve that you are not going to let this go until you have worked it through with the Father.  It is not coming to a place of understanding but it is allowing God to take you to a place of rest, a place of trust that even though you don’t understand you will continue to trust Him and believe in Him.

5. Receive the peace that passes all human understanding

Ask God to take you to a place of faith and rest as was demonstrated by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in Daniel 3:8-30, especially verses 16-18.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

The beginning place for a life in the Kingdom of God is learning to live by faith and not by sight as the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:7 and to do that we must learn to overcome the enemies of faith, doubt, disappointment, discouragement, even anger.  I would encourage you to let God examine your heart and reveal the state of your faith.  Further, purpose in your heart that you will not leave this issue unresolved weekend but will make it a matter of prayer until you can say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:

• Our (My) God is able

• Our (My) God is willing

• But even if He does not

I will not be offended, I will not withdraw, I will not turn away to worship other gods of my own making…

Reflection/Application Questions

1. There are a number of enemies of the life of faith.  Some of them include sin, fear (of the unknown, other people), doubt and unbelief.  Can you think of a time where one of these undermined your faith and kept you from doing/enjoying something you know God had for you?  What could you do that would enable you to overcome these temptations and be victorious in the future?

2. Have you ever been, or are you now, offended at God for what He hasn’t done?   Has unanswered prayer affected your ability to trust God and believe His promises for today and for the future?  If any of these are true for you, consider following the steps suggested by Pastor Bill Johnson and ask the Lord to bring you back to a place of childlike trust in Him.  Remember though, it is not an intellectual exercise where you have to try and figure it out.  Just rest in Jesus (Matthew 11:28).

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