Faith: A guarantee for answers to prayers!
Welcome to another exciting week! I hope you were blessed by last week teaching. This week, we shall focus on:Faith: A Guarantee for Answers to Prayers!
From Scriptures, we understand that faith is the only guarantee for answers to our prayers. As it is written, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord (James 1:5-7).Therefore, prayer is meaningless without faith because the purpose of prayer is to access and take delivery of answers(Mark 11:24; Matthew 21:22).That is why those who play down on faith do not make much out of prayers. Only a cry of faith matters to God on the altar of prayer. The Bible records,And as Jesus passed on thence, two blind [men] followed him, crying and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.And when he was come to the house, the blind [men] came to him. And Jesus says to them, Do ye believe that I am able to do this? They say to him, Yea, Lord.Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you (Matthew 9:27-29).Faith is not a religious philosophy; faith is a spiritual weapon of war. Faith is not a religious ideology; it is a living force for accessing what belongs to us in the Kingdom. It is a living force drawn from the living Word of God to command living proofs (Luke 8:44-48;Hebrews 11:1).
What then is Faith?
Faith is the substance of things expected based on our spiritual understanding of the truth, which produces evidence of things not seen.
Faith is Word-substantiated Expectation: As it is written,Who against hope believed in hope to his becoming father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be:and not being weak in faith, he considered not his own body already become dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadening of Sarah’s womb,and hesitated not at the promise of God through unbelief; but found strength in faith, giving glory to God(Romans 4:18-20). Abraham traded with what was spoken and was not bothered about the circumstances around him(Genesis 15:6).
Faith is Word-based Expectation: The Bible says, For ever, O Jehovah, thy word is settled in the heavens (Psalm 119:89). Nobody can do anything against the truth(2 Corinthians 13:8;Romans 15:4). So, faith is Word boosted expectation.
Faith is Word-rooted Expectation: It is written, Butsome one will say, Thou hast faith and I have works. Shew me thy faith without works, and I from my works will shew thee my faith (James 2:18). So, faith can be replaced with expectation; thus, faith without expectation is fake, the substance of faith is expectation. Christianity without expectation is an adventure in frustration. Bartimaeus cried and almost lost his throat, but Jesus said, … What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight (Mark 10:51).His faith brought back his sight, not the intensity of his cry(Mark 10:52).
Therefore, there must be clarity of communication. The prayer that must be answered is the prayer that must be accompanied with unshakable expectation. The Bible records, Elias was a man of like passions to us, and he prayed with prayer that it should not rain; and it did not rain upon the earth three years and six months;and again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to spring forth (James 5:17-18).Elisha prayed expectation addicted prayers; because he was too sure of his God, he made a mess of the god of baal(1 kings 18:43-44). He came on the scene and within two to three minutes, the fire of the Lord fell (1 Kings 18:38-39).
The Prayer of Faith demands:
We must be Born Again: As it is written,Thus therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified (Matthew 6:9). Thus, the first requirement is ensuring that we have a Father in heaven and that is through the salvation of our souls(John 1:12;1 John 3:2; Galatians 3:26). So, it is by surrendering our lives to Jesus that we become sons and daughters of God. We have a Father in heaven to whom we can pray and until we are saved, we cannot be heard.
Faith only works in the hand of the redeemed: The Bible says, For all that has been begotten of God gets the victory over the world; and this is the victory which has gotten the victory over the world, our faith (1 John 5:4).
In summary, when we pray the prayer of faith with expectation; we will see the wonder working God at work. However, you must be born again. If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now, I know I am born again! For further reading, get my books: Winning Prayer, Satan Get Lost and Born to Win. I invite you to fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:55 a.m., 9:50 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. respectively. Also, you can join our live services via Facebook: David Oyedepo Ministries International, Twitter: @Davidoyedepomin, Instagram: davidoyedepomin,YouTube: Living Faith Church Worldwide, Hebron 95.9 FM, Winners World App, Impact Africa TV (on Startimes and NigComSat), Domi Radio and via the Church Satellite. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, call 01-4548070, 01-4548280, or E-mail: [email protected].
