Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find.;
knock, and will be opened.
For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
Or what man is there among you who,
when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish,
he will not give him a snake, will he?
If you then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven
give what is good to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:7-11
Prayer. It is arguably the foundational spiritual disciple. It is done by all who believe. Whether in private or corporately, whether out loud or in the heart, whether a whisper or a shout, whether in joy or in sadness, whether in faith or in doubt, whether in peace or in a storm, we pray. For indeed, as Terry Glaspey wrote, “prayer is the beating heart of the spiritual life.”1
However, it is not enough just to pray for something. We must also believe. We must believe that God hears us. That He cares for us. And, that He is able to do what He says.
We must believe this, for Scripture so clearly teaches it. We all know the cautions. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it’s silence. Sometimes we can’t see it. Sometimes we ask for the wrong things or from the wrong heart. Certainly, what we receive is often not what we want, but what is for our good. And, most obviously, we aren’t promised health and wealth, if only we have enough faith.
Prayer and Faith
But these qualifications aside, prayer must be full of faith in order to be faithful. It must believe that God can act. As Paul wrote of Abraham, “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
And yet, how often I find myself wavering in unbelief as I cast my cares upon God. We all have our own struggles with unbelief. Speaking personally, I don’t often doubt that He hears, but rather I doubt that I’ll hear.
Will He really act so decisively in my case? Will I have the faith to act on where He is leading me? Will I ever turn my mind off and just trust Him to care for me? Will I ever just accept the gift I’ve asked for without analyzing it to death? Will I ever stop second-guessing? It usually goes something like that.
And if it’s not that, then I usually doubt that my faith can really be my own (Romans 14:22). Didn’t another believer who has been used powerfully by the Lord come to a different conclusion about this type of situation? Well, if it’s more conservative than my conclusions, isn’t that the “safe” bet?
I know these things are not true, but the struggle is real. I may lack wisdom and ask of God, who in my head I know gives generously and without reproach (James 1:5-8), and yet, in my heart, I waver. I hesitate. I fear. I’ve bathed the matter in prayer and study and Scripture and counsel. But, at best, I have only sprinkled it with faith.
Prayer and Coincidences
To be honest, my prayer life is nothing to brag about. Not just in quality, but also in quantity. But every now and then, an issue does arise that gets my prayer heart beating like it should.
Ironically, and certainly with the most important issue in my faith, the more prayer the matter receives, the more that “coincidences” seem to occur. As Richard Foster, referencing Archbishop William Temple, wrote, “Coincidence? Perhaps, but… the coincidences occur much more frequently when he prays.”2 At what point ought the believer to just believe that these connections are from the hand of the living God?
Again, we need to recognize the importance of the ultimate authority of Scripture, the pivotal role of the local church, the testimony and counsel of other believers, but when our prayer occurs within this context, shouldn’t we be all the more ready for God to act? Shouldn’t we be on the edge of our seat?
Prayer and the People of God
God says ask. God says seek. God says knock. But, He doesn’t stop there. He says we will receive. He says we will find. He says it will be opened. It can seem holy to have a default setting of hesitation toward interpreting God’s activity in our lives (which I confess to), but, without a doubt, that attitude is just not biblical.
What saint of old, when following God’s will, had it? Did Noah when he built the arc? Did Abraham when he left Ur? Did Gideon when he went forth with the 300 men? Did David when he faced Goliath? Did Ezra when he read the Law? Did Elisha when he took on the prophets of Baal? Did Isaiah when he wrote of the Redeemer to come? Did Peter as he proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord? Did Paul as he traveled the world proclaiming the same? Did John when he was exiled to Patmos? And, most important of all, did Jesus ever think and act as if prayer was not effective?
Why then so much hesitation? Why then so much doubt? Our God is not the God of the philosophers, but the God of Abraham, of Issac, of Jacob. He is near to His people. He knows every hair on our head and every thought that passes through our brains. He cares for the ravens. How much more His children?
Our God is not some deistic deity. He is not some pagan god where ritual must move him. He is our Father. We are His children. He is our good Shepard. He is ready, willing, and able to give us what we need.
Pray, Listen, and Believe
Yes, God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light onto our path (Psalm 119:105). May we never forget that. But, we can hold two truths together. Indeed, it is His very Word that teaches us to pray with expectation, to beseech with belief, to have faith that He is a rewarder of those who seek him, and that without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Therefore, with Spurgeon, we can rightly say, “But hear as well as cry (pray), and believe what you hear, for it is by believing that peace is obtained.”3
There is nothing holy about prayer that doesn’t believe. There is nothing faithful about prayer that has no faith. Thankfully, God is gracious, so it doesn’t take much. Even a faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. I’m not sure if I’ve got that mustard seed yet, but, perhaps that is just one more thing to pray about.
Notes
- Terry Glaspey, Discovering God Through the Arts: How We Can Grow Closer to God by Appreciating Beauty and Creativity (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2021), 224
- Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth Special Anniversary Edition (New York, NY: Harper One, 2018), 24
- Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare, Book One: The Power in Prayer (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998), 37.
Further Reading
Great post! As you know, prayer is a subject that even mature Christians struggle with at times. Your right that faith goes beyond belief, because it encompasses complete trust and confidence in God and His promises.