Faith:  The Secret Of Prayer

 

Matthew 21:22

Introduction:  The Bible has much to say about faith.  Hebrews 10:38  -- “Now the just shall live by

faith.”  Part of that life is prayer, and faith is most important in receiving what God has for us.

Matthew  21:22  -- “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Mark  11:24  --  “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye

receive them, and ye shall have them.”

Faith has several different meanings.

    1.  It can indicate the way we believe  --  Believing in or on Christ with total dependency

    2.  It can indicate what we believe  --  As in the case of the Gospel

    3.  It can indicate mere intellectual assent  -- The devils believe and tremble(simple acknowledgment)

    4.  It can indicate deep personal commitment  -- Necessary for enduring trials and tribulations

    5.  It can indicate expectancy based upon truth  -- This is where faith is most associated with prayer. 

We can look forward to an answer based upon the solid foundation of the promises of God’s Word.

Faith is vital to prayer because of its threefold work.

    1.  Faith Accepts God’s Word  --  Faith doesn’t merely agree with God’s Word, but acts on it.

    2.  Faith Wins God’s Approval  --  “Without faith it is impossible to please him”

    3.  Faith Recognizes God’s Power  --  Faith in God allows us to believe and experience God’s power.

Hebrews 11:1  --  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Sometimes its hard to believe what you can not see.  Faith realizes those things, and by faith we may

“obtain a good report” in prayer.

 

I.  The Purpose Of Faith  --  Provision  -- Faith provided Four Things in the Old Testament

    A.  Place Of Security

             1.  Ruth 2:12  -- “...under whose wings thou art come to trust”

             2.  Trust  = “chacah” = “to seek refuge in” -- Many times we run to God in prayer, believing that

                 He will give us a place of protection, and stay the hand of Satan.

    B.  Place Of Stability

             1.  Job 35:14  --  “.... judgment is before him; therefore, trust thou in him.”

             2.  Trust = “chuwl”  -- “to stay upon; to wait patiently”  --  Sometimes the only thing we can do 

                 is stand upon those things we know are sure.  The Scripture, the Church, and prayer.

    C.  Place Of Strength

             1.  Psalms 56:3  --  “What time I am afraid,  I will trust in thee.”

             2.  Trust = “batach” = “to lean upon with confidence”  -- Sometimes in our prayer, all we can do

                 is lean upon His everlasting arms.  He is our only resource of hope and strength.

    D.  Place Of  Success

             1.  Psalms 22:8  -- “He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him.”

             2.  Trust = “galal” =  “to roll on”  --  This verse speaks of Christ.  He never quit regardless of  

                 how tough the road became. In times of difficulty we need to “roll on” with Christ. Don’t quit!

 

II.  The Power Of Faith  -- Hebrews 11:23-27  -- The Power Of Faith In The Life Of Moses

    A.  Conquers Our Fear  -- vs. 23

             1.  Pharaoh had ordered the death of every male infant, but Moses’ parents ignored the order.

                 “...they were not afraid.”  Prayer gives confidence to believe God will take care of His own.

             2.  Fear is a common problem.  We fear death, being left alone, financial trouble, etc.  All we

                 have to do is go to God, and there we find faith that gives “peace which passeth all 

                 understanding.”

    B.  Determines Our Choices  -- vs. 24

             1.  At this point in Moses’ life, everything has been laid at his feet.

                 a.  Social Honour -- vs. 24 -- He is the Son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 

                 b.  Physical Satisfaction  --  vs. 25  --  He can enjoy all the pleasures of sin.

                 c.  Material Gain --  vs. 26  -- He had access to the treasures of Egypt.

             2.  Moses saw all these things as temporal, and by faith he chose rather to suffer affliction.

   C.  Sharpens Our Vision  --  vs. 27

             1.  “...seeing him who is invisible” The word seeing means “fixed; looking away from one object 

                 to another”.  Instead of focusing on the anger of Pharaoh, he focused on the mercy of God.

             2.  Many times we enter the church house with problems and difficult circumstances on our 

                 mind.  Suddenly through the preaching, singing, or testimonies we get a better perspective. 

                 We focus on the beauty of eternity instead of the problems of life.

    D.  Recognizes Our Dependence  --  vs. 28

             1.  The night the death angel swept through, every Jew put their faith in the blood of the

                 Passover Lamb.  No doubt there was fear in every firstborn child’s heart.

             2.  The instructions for safety seemed strange and simple, the demands were costly (unblemished

                 lamb) but praise God it worked.

             3.  I don't always understand why God does what He does.  All I know is He has never failed

                 once.

    E.  Overcomes Our Difficulties  --  vs. 29

             1.  The end result of believing God is always deliverance.  Moses had faith in the great I AM,

                 and God overcame the greatest enemy Israel had ever faced.

             2.  80 years earlier it may not have seemed possible, but because he kept putting faith in God he

                 saw deliverance.  Don't quit believing when circumstances get tough.  God is still in control. 

 

III.  The Practice Of Faith  --  John 11:1-46 --  Practical Faith In The Resurrection Of Lazuras

    A.  The Condition Called For Faith

             1.  A Sick Man  --  In verse one Lazarus was sick unto death.  Mary & Martha called for Jesus.

             2.  A Dead Man  --  In verses 11-14 the delay of Christ lead to the death of Lazarus.

             3.  Sad Hearts  -- In verse 19 many of the Jews came to comfort, but had no power to help.

             4.  This resembles many of our situations in life.  Things get worse and we seem powerless.

    B.  The Command For Action

             1.  When Christ got on the scene things started to happen.  In verse 39 Christ gives a command

                 to test the faith of Mary and Martha.  Christ said, “Roll the stone away.”

             2.  Martha reacted in disbelief.  Jesus didn’t realize how bad the situation really was.

    C.  The Confirmation Of Promise

             1.  The Language Of Doubt.  He has been dead four days and probably stinks.  Sometimes it

                 is hard to believe God can take care of a problem that has continually gone downhill.  We

                 focus on the problem to the point we forget that Deity is working on our side.  Martha who

                 had enough confidence in Christ to heal her sick brother, didn’t have faith to see him raised

                 from the dead.

             2.  The Rebuke Of Love  -- vs. 40 “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou

                 shouldest see the glory of God?”  Jesus rebuked her for her doubt.  He basically is asking “Do

                 you think I lied when I told you I would resurrect him?”  Many times we do the same thing by

                 not having faith in the promise of God’s Word.

             3.  Obedience Of Faith  --  They obeyed Christ and witnessed a great deliverance.  I wonder how

                 much of the Glory of God we could see if we would simply believe.

    D.  The Confounded Skeptics

             1.  After this miracle many were saved, and all the Pharisees could do is walk away.  They

                 couldn’t deny the power of Christ.

             2.  Many people stand back looking at impossible situations wondering in skepticism if God can

                 really answer prayer.  If you will believe and obey every command of Christ, you too can  

                 “...see the Glory of God”

Conclusion:  God can do any thing if we can find the faith to believe.  Pray with confidence knowing that the Father can answer any prayer. 

1. Luke 1:37  -- “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

2. Jeremiah  32:27  -- “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard  for me?”

3. Jeremiah 32:17  --  “Ah Lord God!  behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing to hard for thee:”