Praying.... and the necessity of it -PART 2

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:23-24)

This is my part two of Praying and the Necessity of it. This works through chapter 3 ( there are twelve in the book, so you will probably see more parts before its all said and done ;)
The book was saying that many men and woman of this day and age obtain their “good report” because of their money giving, or their “great” talents, but there are so few who obtain a “good report” because of their great faith in God or because of the wonderful things that are happening because of their great praying. Today, more than ever, we need men of great faith and people who are great in prayer. Faith and Prayer are the two main virtues that make men great in the eyes of God, and are also the two things that create real spiritual success in the life and work of the Church. It is our responsibility to see that we maintain a faith of such quality and texture, so it counts before God! (Which is more important, being great in the worlds view or God’s?)

It would do us good, if we stopped, and looked at our own lives and ask ourselves the question: “Have I faith in God? Have I real faith,—faith which keeps me in perfect peace, about the things of earth and the things of heaven?” This is the most important question a man can ask and expect to be answered. And there is another question, “Do I really pray to God so that He hears me and answers my prayers? And do I truly pray unto God so that I get direct from God the things I ask of Him?”
Do we believe, without a doubt that when we pray, not that we will receive the things we ask on a future day, but that we receive them, then and there? We need to pray, “Lord, increase our faith,” until doubt be gone, and simple trust claims the promised blessings, as its very own.
But that kind of faith is only reached after many failures, after much praying, after many waitings, and after many trials of faith. Our faith must increase until we realize and receive all the fullness there is in that Name which guarantees to do so much.

Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its requests are made known—faith must have gone on ahead; must have believed in the existence of God; must have given its assent to the gracious truth that “God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek His face.” This is the primary step in praying. In this regard, while faith does not bring the blessing, yet it puts prayer in a position to ask for it, and leads to another step toward realization, by aiding the petitioner to believe that God is able and willing to bless.

Faith is not an aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His promises. Just as love and hope have always an objective so, also, has faith. Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in Him, trusting His Word.

I gathered a couple quotes about prayer that I thought fit. Take some time to really think about what they are saying!
"You may as soon find a living man that does not breath, as a living Christian that does not pray." Matthew Henry

He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day. John Bunyan

"Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying. Paul E. Billheimer

Think about that last one carefully. You just read a post on prayer, and now it’s time to really pray! Give Satan something to pout about!

Striving for excellence,
Rachel D