I love to get letters.  Every day this ministry receives letters and most of them are very interesting and sincere.  Also, we receive many prayer requests.  We believe in the power of prayer. We expect God to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional and financial needs of all Christians who diligently seek Him and His kingdom. 

 

With this in mind let me say this.  Sometimes we receive letters from people who say they have prayed and prayed but have not received an answer.  Some say that what they have been praying for has not taken place and they have become discouraged.  What’s the answer?  Why do we sometimes not receive an answer when we pray?

 

Well, here’s the answer.  In James 1:5 the Bible says that if anyone lacks wisdom then all they have to do is to ask God and it will be given to him.  But it goes on to say that if the one asking does not ask in faith, then that man should not suppose that he would receive anything from the Lord.  It doesn’t say that he would not receive wisdom, but explicitly says that a man who does not ask, petition or pray in faith, should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

 

When we pray, if we expect to receive what we are praying for, we must pray in faith.

 

But what does it mean to pray in faith?  What it means is this.  When we pray, we must believe that we have received what we have requested.  To be in faith means that we are not moved by what we see or sense with our physical senses, but instead we act on what God says in His Word -- nothing else, just His Word.

 

For example, if we have a physical need, we should take God’s Word and believe what He says in His Word about sickness.  In Psalm 103:3 the Bible says that He is the one who heals all our diseases.  Does God heal our diseases or doesn’t He?  Do we believe the Word or do we believe the world.  Well, I choose to believe God.  How about you?

 

The Bible instructs us in James 5:14 on how to pray for the sick.  It says; “Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”

 

Here’s the point.  When we have a need, when we have a request, we can petition God in prayer and He will meet our needs.  But according to the Bible, He only answers our petitions when we ask in faith.