-Acts 12:14-15
"Unless You Believe, You Will Not Understand."
-Saint Augustine (354AD-430AD)
You can say prayers in your mind but doubt in your heart. At times God will answer such prayers as He did when Peter was in prison, scheduled for execution. The believers in Jerusalem were powerless to free him, so they prayed. When God released Peter, their reaction revealed the doubt in their hearts. They argued that Peter could not possibly be free, even as he stood outside knocking on the door!
It is possible to be a “person of prayer” and yet still not have faith? Absolutely! If you study habitual liars, they actually believe their lies to be true. If you tell the same lie over and over again, you too will come to believe your lie to be true. Is it possible to fool yourself into believing that because you ask God for help, you have faith in His ability to meet your needs? Is your faith so weak that you are surprised when God answers your prayer? As a child of God, you ought to expect God to answer your prayers. Not play God like a puppet which is in your control but know undoubtedly that he will answer them the best way He decides. And…sometimes those prayers may be just the way you wanted, that’s where we see the true essence of faith. Are you surprised or are you grateful? Not, surprised and grateful. Just grateful. Do you ask God to do something without adjusting your life to what you are praying? If you are praying for revival, how are you preparing for its coming? If you are praying for forgiveness, are you still living with guilt and bitterness? If you have asked God to provide for your needs, do you remain worried and anxious?
Ask God to increase your faith, and then begin living a life that reflects absolute trust in Him. Out of His grace, God may choose to respond to your requests despite your lack of faith, but you will miss the joy of praying in faith.
I like the commonly used story about the woman stranded on top of the house where the waters are rising due to a massive flood. While waiting she prayed earnestly for God to come and save her. As she was praying a man rowed by in a canoe and asked if she wanted help. She declined and remarked “No thanks, God is going to save me.” So he rowed on. She continued to pray and a country boy came by in his air powered boat and asked her if she wanted help. She waived him on as well remarking the same thing. Then the Coast Guard came in with a helicopter. Again the same thing. Well, she died. When she went to heaven she asked God, “What happened? I prayed for you to save me and now I am here.” He looked at her, shook his head and responded, “I sent you 2 boats and a helicopter. What more did you expect?” God is not going to be this giant arm that comes through the clouds to do what it is you are asking…well, he might but it is highly unlikely. So live faithfully that he has an arm through the clouds right now helping but you just can’t see it.
And now for Napoleon Hill's Thought of the Day.
IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE DOWNTRODDEN.
We still live in the greatest country in the world. The United States is the great experiment in positive thinking; our entire system of government is based upon faith in the inherent goodness of the individual. It was a revolutionary idea more than 200 years ago when the Declaration of Independence was first signed. Borrowing from the greatest thinkers in history, our founding fathers established a form of government of the people that is today the model most imitated around the world. Economic and political conditions ebb and flow, but as long as we have a democratic society that celebrates the individual, we can achieve anything in life we desire. All you require to be successful in the United States is the desire to achieve success and the determination to stick with it until you reach your goals.
