Prayer & Faith

[UncleAbee]

What would be the proper balance between prayer and faith for a Christian? If a person makes a request to God, should they only ask for it once and then subsequently just thank God in faith that the prayer has been answered after that until they see the manifestation of it, or should they ask repeatedly showing faith by persistence? A translation of Matt 7:7-8 says 'Keep on asking and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened'. Also, the parable of the unjust judge seems to illustrate the virtue of persistence in prayer, just like the acronym PUSH(pray until something happens). Perhaps the first method may be correct, because if you were to continually keep asking for something, then in your mind you don't yet believe that you have it(Heb 11:1). Any comments and insight would be very much appreciated...

I like Luke 18:1-8 for the answer to this -

1Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they (A)ought to pray and not to (B)lose heart,

2saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who didnot fear God and did not ©respect man. 3"There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' 4"For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor (D)respect man, 5yet (E)because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will (F)wear me out.'" 6And (G)the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7now, will not God (H)bring about justice for His (I)elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He (J)delay long over them? 8"I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, (K)will He find faith on the earth?"

Wear Him out with your prayer whatever it is.

[imoss]

I agree that we pray until the matter is settled within our heart. I agree that we pray without ceasing but that this sort of prayer is like an ongoing dialogue with the Lord. How it must please him to hear "oh Lord look at that glorious bird, thank you for your creation and how you've blessed us with the beauty of it" Praying without ceasing is not about running the same request over and over but about talking to the Lord in your day. I do however pray daily for a blanket of protection over my family.

One day I didnt pray as my boys school bus left. I got thinking about other things. They spend an hour on the bus and it stress's me out. That day their school bus was rear ended by a transport truck doing 100k. The thing is the fellow driving the truck said he in the fog he NEVER saw the bus & has no idea how he swerved so damage was done to the rear drivers side only & none of the children were injured. For an hour though we had no idea of the damage/injuries as we heard of it on the news.

I think when we pray BIG things happen and we dont have to pray daily for the same basic things that we give to the Lord. All day I was stressed as this was the scariest thing ever for me. That night I went outside on our back property I was crying out to God about what to do, If we should move. A rainbow appeared. Its beginning on one property peg, its end on the other. How amazing and present is our Lord! (I got pictures!) With that being said In Luke there is a parable that speaks to how we should keep praying even if it is for the same things. I still pray daily for a blanket of protection over my family, our property and our company and the guys who work for us. I'm certain these sorts of prayers are pleasing to the Lord.

If we are praying for something and are in the will of God this is what scripture says:

1 John 5:14-15 (King James Version) 14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Bless your heart.

SORRY< Just Noticed someone already quoted Luke 18 so I deleted it

Edited March 31, 2011 by imoss

[Fez]

Learn from Nehemiah, he knew how to pray...

Long prayers

Neh 1:3 And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire."

Neh 1:4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Neh 1:5 And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Neh 1:6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned.

Short prayer.. (which he could not have prayed if it was not for the first one above - he was prepared and had to answer the king quickly. Like "Help me Lord!")

Neh 2:4 Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Neh 2:5 And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it."

A watchful prayer, and one he was able to pray because the first two above were answered....

Neh 4:7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.

Neh 4:8 And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

Neh 4:9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

Note he did not set up a guard and then pray, he prayed and then set up a guard.

Nehemiah knew how to pray...

[Openly Curious]

I think that "Matthew chp. 6 fits right into this thread hope you will read. In vs. 33 it tells us to seek "FIRST" the kingdom of God and his "RIGHTEOUSNESS" and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Word tells us that if we seek the righteous of God first in our personal lives then God will put into our lives the things we have need of as mentioned in chapter six. God does see in your life your needs and he cares for and loves his children. "BUT" we have to "Seek" his righteousness first and foremost in our lives.

[elijanoch]

Matthew 6

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Hebrews 11

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

[JohnD]

Luke 18:1-8 (KJV)

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Uncle Abee already posted this and is quite correct.

Prayer is as much conditioning as petitioning. It conditions the one praying as well as petitioning the one being prayed to. It reaffirms the Lord is the source for everything. That he is in charge and it is his will not ours that is to be done and it done. It is aligning our will with his.

James 5:16 (KJV)

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1 John 5:14-15 (KJV)

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Which is another way of saying "in Jesus' name" according to Jesus will or according to what Jesus stands for...

In Jesus' name is not a magical catch phrase to insure answered prayer...

John 16:24 (NASB95)

24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.

The Messianic office, purpose, and person were a mystery up to that point.

While God is indeed the source of all things... he is not a genie to satisfy our every whim... but he does care about us he loves us and is concerned with our every matter or circumstance. But there is a bigger picture and bigger things going on in this ongoing mission to save sinners. And we must remember that. Yes, pray without ceasing. Inundate God with all your petitions. He may in fact grant them even if they are not directly involved with the bigger picture. But he may also be showing you to be careful what you ask for because you just may get it.

Think of all the past puppy loves and infatuations we all had in growing up and how we prayed Lord give me this one thing... the love of this person or that person... then several years later you see them again after the torch you carried is long since burned out and you see them as they really are and you thank the Lord God of Heaven he did not give you them or them you!!

God really does care. And he knows the future and what is best for us. A million dollars might solve a temporal situation here on earth but be part of one's downfall in eternity... as Jesus said... what profit is it really to gain the whole world and lose your very spirit in eternal damnation?

Edited April 24, 2011 by JohnDB

[JohnD]

As regard to faith... in answer to the deeper question "why faith?" Why not do all things in the sight of men and women so they can see for themselves the Lord is good and to be trusted with our very self... ???

Some go to the answer as to why man has choice (so that we are not organic automatons responding to divine stimulation). But it's a little broader than that. Yes this is true about choice. But it also involves the fact that God already did do all things in the direct face of the angelic host and still a third of them fell into sin and eternal condemnation. It is poignant that though the rich man wanted to save his family from hell and not even himself Abraham's reply was:

Luke 16:27-31 (NASB95)

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