Pray in Faith

Andrew had another surgery last night and we stayed to pray through the procedure.
After it was over we were talking to his Dad and Mom about the effect that prayer has had on Andrew's condition over the years. In simple terms, when people pray he does well, when people stop he does poorly. And it seems clear that if there has been times when prayer has kept him alive.

As we were talking I realized it wasn't prayer that had the effect, it was faith. Faith was exercised through prayer. It's the 'prayer of faith' (James 5) that has the effect on Andrew's body. James also points out in chapter 1 that when we ask we must believe and not doubt and if we pray in doubt we should expect nothing in return. Only faith generates a return.

So I see it isn't about prayer. It's about faith. Prayer is the vehicle to approach God in faith, without doubting. God always responds to faith. Always. No matter how much faith, he responds.

This has helped me understand that when I pray I must pray in faith. If I have doubts I must talk to God and get those corrected first. Or, I must ignore them and pray with the tiny bit of faith I might have.

In the context of faith it is very important to know what the Word says, in this case about healing. I have studied the healing word over and over and have it fixed in my thinking so that I don't think doubt when I pray for healing, I think the truth of the Word. This helps me pray in faith.

Pa