Read Romans 10:17.  How do we obtain faith, or how does faith come to us? __________________________________________________________________

    Faith comes by hearing what God says, hearing His Word, hearing His promises, and believing He will do exactly what He has said He will do.  To ask in faith or believing does not mean asking for anything you want, and then believing with all your heart that God will do it.  It means asking for what we desire within the context of what God has told us. 

    Abraham is considered to be the father of faith—he was the first to have faith in God.  Read Genesis 12: 1-4.  What did God say to Abraham? __________________________________________________________________________

What did Abraham do in response? __________________________________________________________________________ 

Read Romans 4:3 and write what Abraham did.

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    So we see from Abraham’s example that faith is believing God—believing that God will do what He has promised to do.  And we see God’s second purpose for all prayer taking shape.  “God’s second purpose in all prayer is to help us participate in His work.” 

Read 1 Chron. 17:25.  What did God tell David that He was going to do? _________________________________________________________________________

What did David then pray for God to do?

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Ezekiel 36:36-37 reads, “…I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.  Thus says the Lord God; I will also let the house of Israel inquire of me to do this for them…” And Isaiah 62:6 (NLT) says, “O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray to the Lord day and night for the fulfillment of his promises.  Take no rest, all you who pray.”  In both instances, they were to ask God to do what He had already promised them He was going to do! 

     We are not necessary for God to fulfill His will.  He does not need us to accomplish anything.  He purposes and then brings to pass.  “Why pray, then,” you may ask, “if God just does what He wants to do?” Well, because He told us to pray.  And because when we pray, it makes us a part of His work!  We get to be involved in what the God of the universe is doing!  In the process, we grow closer to God!   When God gets ready to do something, He calls His people to pray.  He clues us into His will, into what He intends to do.  What a privilege! 
 

How God works through the prayers of His people 

1)  God purposes (determines to do something) 

2)  Next, after He has purposed or determined, He calls His people

     to pray.   He reveals to His people by His Holy Sprit a portion of

     what He has determined to do, and He gives His people a desire

    (a burden) to pray for it.  Ezekiel 36: 36-37 and Isaiah 62: 6 are

     examples of this. 

3)  God’s people are obedient to pray. 

4)  God hear the prayers of His people. 

5)  He answers, and does what He has purposed and called His

     people to pray for.  He has used His people to be a part of His

     great work. We get to be a part of His divine plan—this is the

     great privilege of prayer!

    Zodiaties gives a good illustration of this principle in his book, The Lord’s Prayer.  “As rain descends from the clouds and is afterwards drawn up into heaven again by the sun, prayer likewise is part of an unbroken circuit of receiving that which descends from heaven and then sending it heavenward again.  Only as we understand this can we understand why Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

God’s overall purpose is bringing His Kingdom.  Read Matthew 7: 7-8. What does Jesus teach about prayer in these verses? __________________________________________________________________________ 

    These verses have been much misunderstood, and have fostered many wrong teachings about prayer.  Obviously, we can not ask for just anything, and what we have asked for be given to us!   According to Matthew 7:7, first we “ask.”  When we come before God to ask, the first thing we must do is to discern God’s will.  We must ask Him to reveal His will  in whatever situation we face.  When we ask, “Lord, what is Your will,” He promises we will “receive.”  We will receive Word from Him concerning His will.  The next thing we must do is “seek,”—seek and ye shall find.  We must spend time in prayer seeking the way which He will provide for us to accomplish His will.  Once we see clearly how to proceed, we must “knock,” and the opportunity to proceed will be opened to us. 3  

    We must also look at the context of these verses to understand their meaning.  This whole passage, Matthew chapters 5-7, is what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is speaking about the coming of the Kingdom of God.  This is God’s work, the bringing of the Kingdom, and it is in the work of bringing the Kingdom that we are privileged to participate.  What Jesus is saying is that we can ask anything when it comes to the work God has given us to do: helping Him bring souls into the Kingdom.        

    This concept could be compared to working for a huge, powerful company, in which the president sends you to perform a specific task.  Since he is the one who sends you, he will equip you.  He has unlimited resources, and if there is anything you need to accomplish this work, all you have to do is let him know.  All you have to do is ask him for it, and it is as good as done.  That is what Jesus is saying here.  Anything you need to do the work for which my Father has sent you, ask, and it shall be done!   

 Hindrances to Answered Prayer 

Read Psalm 66:18.  What will happen if we cherish sin in our hearts? ________________________________________________________________ 

     God cannot even look upon sin.  If He has shown us a sin in our lives, and we have not confessed that sin and forsaken it, that sin separates us from God, and He will not hear our prayers.  It is that simple. 

 Read Isaiah 59:2.  If we have unconfessed iniquities and sin in our lives, what does that do to our relationship with God?

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Read James 4:3.  Why don’t we  receive answers to prayer? ________________________________________________________________________   

   This verse tells us not merely to pray for the things we want and lust after, things for our own happiness.  Instead, we are to pray for God’s will, for what God desires… Examples would be personal holiness, purity, love for God, etc… This verse tells us that if we ask amiss (ask for things not in God’s will), we will not receive what we ask for!       

Write Romans 10:17 from memory.

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Are there areas of my life in which God is speaking, but I do not yet have enough faith to trust Him?

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If there are, ask Him to increase your faith.