Prevailing Faith and Prayer, Part 3
As a born-again believer in Jesus, His resurrection life lives in you, where His power is at work. Within you is a force greater than anything. Jesus is the source of your new life, faith, and victorious prayer.
Have you ever paused to consider this truth? The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead lives and resides within you! (See Eph. 1:18-20)
This insight will revolutionize your prayer life!
Your prayers are not “feeble attempts” to get God’s attention; instead, your prayers carry “resurrection life” because the greater one within you releases His presence and power through you.
Understand that, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world!” (1 John 4:4 NASB)
When Carolyn and I were newly married, God began guiding us toward a deeper understanding of Christ within. One day during this time, Carolyn came home from work with excruciating pain in her left ear. I told her, “Let me pray for your ear,” and she happily agreed.
I prayed a brief, commanding prayer, telling the pain to leave, the infection to subside, and for the ear to function normally—in Jesus’ name. No sooner had I finished praying, she said, “Bob, all the pain is gone!” I, still new to this, asked, “Are you sure?!” She replied, “Yes, I’m sure, all the pain is gone, and my ear feels normal!”
We both rejoiced and thanked God for her healing. His resurrection life was working through me, despite my inexperience and weak faith in healing ministry.
This week, I want to continue teaching on prevailing faith and prayer.
Faith, at its core, is belief in God and His promises. It considers the promise fulfilled because of the One who made it. God’s faith is given to us by Him. We are responsible for using the faith measure given to us and growing in faith, but faith (like grace) originates from God (See Rom. 12:3).
But as I’ve recently shared, Jesus is the source of our faith, and therefore the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, is the origin of our prayers (see Rom. 8:26-27). Learning how to “tune in” to the promptings and guidance of the Spirit is important to pray more confidently and effectively.
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2), and he promised that the fullness of God would dwell in the hearts of believers. Consider what both Jesus and Paul said about God dwelling in and with us.
“Jesus answered, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23 CEB
“9 All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. 10 And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.” Col 2:9-10 CEB
Jesus is the fullness of God, and we, the Church, embody the fullness of Christ! Jesus lives in us, and He is the source of every spiritual blessing. Everything related to life and godliness is found in Him. In Christ, begin to see how wonderful you are in God’s sight, relying on Him, not on yourself. His very resurrection life and power are working in and through you if you only believe!
Jesus, by telling the disciples to “speak to mountains,” was preparing them for situations where they would need to use His authority in the spiritual realm to influence things in the natural world (see Matt. 28:18-19).
You have been given God’s faith, Spirit, promises, and authority! Expect impossible situations to change as you persist in prayer. When you have God’s faith in a matter, you begin to pray and speak with confidence that the promise is received now and is on its way.
Remember, the fullness of God dwells within you as a follower of Christ. Therefore, as you commune with God from your inner being—spirit to Spirit—know that God is at work in and through you to answer prayer and change situations.
Jesus Expects You and Me to Petition Him in Prayer
Remember what Jesus said about the withered fig tree.
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24 NKJV
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus was teaching the disciples a model for prayer (the Lord’s prayer), and then begins to give them additional principles about petitionary prayer.
“7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…11 How much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” God is a good God! He desires to give all good things to us if we just ask Him. Matt. 7:7-8,11 NKJV
These verbs, ask, seek, and knock, in the Greek mean ongoing asking, seeking, and knocking. Pray until you receive an answer or until the Holy Spirit shows you to stop praying. Prayer is mainly communion with God. From this close relationship, God wants us to petition him in prayer. In other words, don’t be afraid to ask God! (see Heb. 4:16) Sure, he already knows what you need before you ask him, but he invites us to petition and partner with him in prayer.
However, to make sure your petitions are answered, there are certain conditions that must be met. This week and next, I’ll cover seven conditions to consider.
- You must ask in FAITH. Simply asking God for things does not guarantee a positive response.
“And all things, whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” Matt. 21:22 NKJV
“…but believes that those things he says will be done… whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:23-24 NKJV
This kind of faith and belief only come from your relationship with Jesus. You simply won’t have faith to believe, free of doubt, apart from abiding in Christ and knowing who you are in Christ.
Again, where is the source of this mountain-moving power? Is it out there? No, it’s Christ within you! Understand that to see the exceedingly abundantly of all that you ask or think, know that it’s according to his power at work in you! (see Eph. 3:20 NKJV)
- Ask in the NAME OF JESUS and the authority of His name.
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13-14 NKJV
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” John 15:16 NKJV
We are living in the power of His victorious ascension, given the authority of His name, and reigning with Him in this life. Consider what Paul wrote about our reigning with Christ:
“… those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:17 NASB
As I shared last week, don’t let a religious spirit try to question your authority in Christ. Remember, all authority belongs to Jesus, and He has commissioned you and me to go in the authority of His command and name! (See Matt. 28:18-19)
He has commissioned us; we are ambassadors of His New Covenant, empowered by Him to set captives free and influence our world with His power. To succeed in faith and prayer, understand your position and authority in Christ, and stay confident in Him despite contradictions.
Next week, I’ll review the remaining five conditions to help your petitionary prayers be answered.
