Do you have FAITH? Faith, just what does this mean to you? To me FAITH is, in it's most basic form a word that means 'to believe'. Faith is the essence of things unseen and the substance of something hoped for. To believe that something can or will happen without knowing that has happened is an example of faith. How funny is that, the dictionary meaning of faith and the biblical meaning of faith both match up perfectly. After all, what does the bible say about faith? Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. As the author of three books, if you happen to read any of my books would see that all of my self help books are faith based books. This would be my Amazon page; http://www.amazon.com/Don-Bolena-Jr/e/B002CAVYIS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1389570506&sr=8-3 now faith without works is dead. This to is biblical, however I will take it a step further, I say faith with out PRAYER may not be very fruitful either. After all, the bible tells us to pray with faith.
Pray With Faith
1. F - Fellowship (1John 1:3)
2. A - Ask (Phil 4:6-7)
3. I - Intercession (1 Tim 2:1)
4. T - Thanksgiving (Psalms 34:1)
5. H - Healing (James 5:13-16
Let's dig a little deeper here, I want you to really understand how Faith works with the power of prayer. I have a question for you? Are you hurting? Are you suffering from heartache, an illness, maybe you have a loved-one who is sick, or who is incarcerated in a prison or a jail? If you look at every great man and woman in the bible, they all had one thing in common, they all prayed. There are some incredible prayers in the Bible and some very remarkable people who prayed them. Of course in their own eyes they weren't remarkable at all. They felt they were as ordinary as you and I feel. But they touched the heart of God in one way or another and were included in the scripture to be examples for us. As we examine some of these great prayers of the Bible we too can pray incredible prayers. We can see miraculous answers. We can even change history. We can touch the heart of God. Our prayers in God's hands aren't as ordinary as we think. They are very powerful. More powerful then you could ever imagine. Just think about it, if your child is on his/her hands and knees begging you, would you not be moved, would you not want to make their pain go away when you know that you hold the power to make their precious heart stop hurting? As a father to three beautiful children, I would fold like a cheap tent in the first 30 seconds to one of my kids. So Yes, Faith and Prayer does really work.
10 Best Prayers from the Bible
I really have no idea why I decided to blog on this subject. With over 650 prayers in the Bible, picking out the best 10 is a nearly impossible task. So at the cost of likely making many of my readers very unhappy, in which I am an expert at all due to my very conservative Christian views, let me present to you my top 10.
Negotiating with God – Genesis 18:22-32 I love the conversation that Abraham has with God in Genesis Chapter 18. In the midst of the city of Sodom’s sin, Abraham approaches the Lord and asks: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Then starts an amazing negotiation. “What is there are fifty righteous?” Abraham dares to ask. “How about five less than fifty?” After bringing down the number a great deal, Abraham ends his negotiating saying, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”The Lord answers, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” It is my desire to have such a real and heartfelt conversation with God. It is a beautiful prayer.
Wrestling with God – Genesis 32:26 While Abraham negotiates with God, Jacob takes the concept of prayer a step further and wrestles with God. Near morning, the Lord says to Jacob, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But Jacob replies, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” It is my hope to have such a persistent hunger for the things of God.
David’s Repentance – Psalm 51:2 For those of you who have not had a perfect run in life, David’s prayer is your road map. He says to the Lord, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Humble, honest, and direct, David heart of repentance is an example for us.
The Prayer of Jabez – 1 Chronicles 4:10 For many years, I had this prayer on the door of my house in Calcutta, India. Jabez cries out to God, “Oh, that you will bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” The verse ends with the Lord granting his request. This prayer reminds us that when we talk to the Lord, he hears us.
Moses Interceding for the People – Exodus 32:11-13 The prayer of Jabez is directed towards himself, and there is nothing wrong with that. Moses seeks the favor of the Lord for his people. “Lord,” he said, “Why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?” Moses goes a step further and reminds God of his promises, as if God had forgotten. He says, “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” It is good from time to time to claim the promises from the Bible. Use these promises as words of prayer to God. God’s covenant and promises do not fail or fall flat, but are yours to receive.
Hannah’s Prayer – I Samuel 1:9-18 Samuel’s mother, Hannah, says a prayer to God that sheds light on the value of not giving up. She asks God for help, but also vows to do her part. She finishes her prayer saying, “May your servant find favor in your eyes,” and walks away no longer downcast. This prayer is worth reading for its sincerity, humility and confidence in God’s ability and willingness to answer prayer.
Jonah’s Prayer – Jonah 2:27 Jonah prays aloud to the Lord when he finds himself in some deep, deep trouble. He quickly admits that he is praying because he needs help, saying, “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me.” If I was writing a book called “Prayer for Dummies,” this is what I would say: “When in crisis – pray.”
Stephen’s Prayer for His Murderers – Acts 7:60 Recall the words of Jesus while he is being crucified, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” now this amazes me! We are to pray for everyone, even our enemies. I know right, that is so hard to do, how can we pary for people we do not like? (Luke 23:34). Stephen in the book of Acts is being stoned to death. He falls down on his knees and prays a similar prayer for his murderers: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” In my own life, I have visited the home of Gladys Staines in Orissa (India) after her husband, Graham Staines, and two sons, Philip (10) and Timothy (6), were burnt alive by antagonists on January 22nd, 1999. Gladys and her daughter, Esther, stunned India by what they did. Gladys mentions it this way: “I cannot express how I felt when I got the news of my husband and sons being burnt alive. I told my daughter Esther that though we had been left alone, we would forgive and my daughter replied, ‘Yes, we will.’” I have never felt pain from such a loss nor have I ever been able to pray as wonderfully as this. Prayers of this kind are examples to me when I need to let go of injustices. To pray a prayer of forgiveness is not easy, but possible.
Jesus’ Prayer of Unity – John 17:21 At the last supper, while Jesus is with his disciples, he prays for the unity of all of us who would believe in him. Jesus says: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
The Lord’s Prayer – Mathew 6:9-13 The disciples came to Jesus and asked him how we should pray. Jesus answers:” This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
So here’s the deal, if we truly want to breakthrough to God, we must breakdown with God and get his attention, we must first go to him with a child like mind and have the strong unwavering faith of a child. This child like faith will shut down any and all skepticism and then we pray with that strong undying faith. I am sure to many of you who do not know me you may never understand my level of faith, you see after being raised in Jacksonville, Fl, in a Super Mega Church FBC First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fl and going to a Christian School, and a Christian University in Lynchburg VA (Liberty University). I must confess that I am very spoiled by my biblical teachings, all the way up to this very present day, as I am a member of another Super Mega Church with an amazing Pastor and Music ministry along with first class Biblical Teaching and training here in Atlanta. www.mountparan.com.
So yes, I am truly spoiled rotten by the amazing biblical educational grooming and training I have been given all of my life. You can thank my mother, who is also my personal intercessor for my biblical knowledge and then I most certainly do have a natural love for Gods word; I am a history lover and biblical history simply amazes me. “Bless the Lord, with all my soul, and all that is with me, Bless His Holy Name”. Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. So I will close with this, our genuine, authentic faith must be definite and free of doubt. Not simply general in character; not a mere belief in the being, goodness and power of God, but a faith which believes that the things which "he saith, shall come to pass." As the faith is specific, so the answer likewise will be definite. Our eyes should be taken off self, removed from our own weakness and allowed to rest implicitly upon God’s strength. A simple, confiding faith, living day by day, and casting its burden on the Lord, each hour of the day, will dissipate fear, drive away misgiving and deliver from doubt:
We need to keep on praying,
"Lord, increase our faith," for faith is susceptible of increase.
Paul’s tribute to the Thessalonians was that their faith grew exceedingly.
Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is nourished by sore
trials. Faith grows by reading and meditating upon the Word of God. Most and best
of all, faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer. It would be well, if all of
us were to stop, and inquire personally of ourselves: "Have I faith in God? Have I real faith, it’s
faith which keeps me in perfect peace, about the things of earth and the things
of heaven?" And there is
another question, closely like it in significance and importance. "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?"
Prayer is absolutely
dependent upon faith. It has no existence apart from it, and accomplishes
nothing unless it is its inseparable companion. Faith makes prayer effectual,
and in a certain important sense, must precede it. "For he that cometh to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him."(Heb 11:6) Before prayer ever starts toward God; before
its requests are made known faith must have gone on ahead; must have asserted
its belief 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 starts prayer to work clears
the way to the mercy-seat. It gives assurance, first of all, that there is a
mercy-seat, and that there the High Priest awaits the pray-ers and the prayers.
Faith opens the way for prayer to approach God. But it does more. It
accompanies prayer at every step she takes. It is her inseparable companion and
when requests are made unto God, it is faith which turns the asking into
obtaining. And faith follows prayer, since the spiritual life into which a
believer is led by prayer, is a life of faith. The one prominent characteristic
of the experience into which believers are brought through prayer, is not a
life of works, but of faith. Faith makes prayer strong, and gives it patience
to wait on God. Faith believes that God is a rewarder. No truth is more clearly
revealed in the Scriptures than this, while none is more encouraging.
So as many of us already know, Faith with out works is dead; James 2:14-26 Faith Without Works Is Dead14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
We must constantly be reminded that our faith
is the one inseparable condition of successful praying. There are other
considerations entering into the exercise, but faith is the final, the one
indispensable condition of true praying. As it is written: "Without
faith, it is impossible to please Him." Faith must assert itself and bid the foes to
prayer depart. Ask God in prayer for more faith. Ask Him in earnest, noon and
night, while you walk by the way, while you sit in the house, when you lie down
and when you rise up; ask Him simply to impress divine things more deeply on
your heart, to give you more and more of the substance of things hoped for and
of the evidence of things not seen.
May your faith and prayer
always be your first action, as this will only lead to increasing measure ~
Donnie Bolena
