Praying is hard. There is no secret formula or proven technique to make prayer easy and effective. Prayer doesn’t turn God into a “genie in a bottle.” Prayer is not a vending machine, where we pop in the right amount and get what we want. Prayer is about a relationship. Prayer is a child talking to his Father in Heaven (Mat. 6:9).
Prayer challenges our faith. James taught us to “ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (1:6). Jesus told his disciples, “Therefore I tell you whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). While we don’t pray to get, we should pray in faith believing we will receive. Does that seem contradictory? We aren’t supposed to think like children in this sense. We should not bring selfishness to our prayers, but rather surrender–remember Christ in the garden, “Not my will, but Thy will.” But we must bring faith to our prayers.
Asking in faith is asking with trust and confidence. James goes on to say that the man who lacks faith in his prayers is “unstable in all his ways” (1:7). He is described as being like a wave of the sea driven and tossed about. Prayer is to stabilized us through the rocky ride of this life. Prayer is casting our cares, request, confessions, and thanksgivings to God in faith. If I don’t ask in faith, that is trusting and believing that God hears and will answer, then I should not “suppose that I will receive anything from the Lord” (1:7). God wants to hear our faith when we talk to Him. He desires our conviction, trust, and love. Prayer isn’t about getting, but it is about believing the one we ask can give!
Pray bold prayers of faith!
