The Exercise Of Faith

October 7

One of the reasons unbelievers pose most often for their denial of Christ and the veracity of His Word, the Bible, is the fact of unanswered prayer. When someone pours his heart out to God and walks away disappointed, he will either recognize God's sovereign plan supersedes his own or use the denial as an excuse to prove God’s non-existence.

The choice presents itself often. We know our Heavenly Father desires that we “walk by faith, not by sight” II Corinthians 5:7. He has never wanted those who follow after Christ to do so for the blessings. He wants those who profess faith in Him to hold on to Him because of who He is, not because of "the loaves and fishes," John 6:26.

Toward that end, our prayers are often met with failure to attain the thing for which we’ve beseeched Him. Luke 9:39, 40 reminds us that we are not alone. Even the disciples sometimes came away from their missionary efforts as abject failures. Even those who walked closest to Jesus sometimes did not see results.

Here a man comes to Jesus and says of his son, “Often a spirit seizes him…and it throws him into convulsions…I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” The passage goes on to tell us that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child. The message seems to be that only HE has ultimate power.

Yet it behooves us to continue to employ the faith and to attempt to exercise the power the Word has told us is ours. The Apostle admonishes that, "We have not because we ask not," James 4:2. Jesus Himself said that if we would but have "faith as a grain of mustard seed, all things will be possible," Luke 17:6, Mark 9:23.

Do we exercise this kind of faith when we pray? Do we truly believe the promises that have been made to us regarding the power that is ours? Though we do not fully employ the prerogatives He has given to us, though we, like the apostles may sometimes fail in our endeavor to 'pray through' may our faith stand in who JESUS is, not in His power to answer our prayers.