How
to Pray with Faith:
A study by Timothy M. Youngblood
Copyright © The
Master's Table
I would like to ask a question that most Christians may not ask, but is a question that needs asking. Are you absolutely sure God hears your prayers? Have you studied the subject of prayer and faith in the Word of God and proven for yourself that the way you pray, and what you pray for is accepted by God? Did you know that sin separates us from God and it is very possible that God may not hear your prayer because of sin! We also will consider in this study the importance of the statement by Jesus when He declared that if we don't forgive others, God would not forgive us. We also must consider what is faith and how faith plays a very important roll in answered prayer, and having faith in God is an act of believing Him. We will learn in this study what it means to believe in Jesus and why it's so important. You might want to read our paper titled "Healing Faith" as well. You can click on it at the end of this study.
Let's start by asking what is required first and foremost in the beginning of our relationship with God? Acts 2:38-39. Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (NKJ throughout) The very word repentance means to turn from our old ways. To feel regret or contrition, or to change one's mind and to dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. Without a desire to change and repent we can't come to the One that holds the keys to the door of salvation. What did Jesus say concerning how we are to reach our Father in heaven? John 14:6. "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." And in John 10:9. "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." No one can reach the Father, except through Christ (who is pure) and must be in order to make intercession for us. Just what does it mean to come in His Name? It means in His stead (i.e.) to come in the name of the King gives you entry into the court, or other restricted areas without being arrested. Jesus is the only one that has the keys to the Kingdom and we must go through Him (in His Name) in order to unlock the door to God or to receive the Holy Spirit. The power of God!
What about Praying?Some very important questions are, what did Jesus say about our reasons for praying, and what did He say we should do while praying? Let's read in Matt 6:5-8. "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."
Here we see that we should not make a show of prayer and that we need not be too concerned about detail as God knows what we have need of before we even ask, so if God knows what you need before you ask, then what is the reason for prayer? The answer is that God wants us to become partners with Him in our own growth towards perfection. He want's us to walk through the very changes that must take place after conversion with Him in prayer. It's like teaching others through a program like spokesman club , or a woman's group, where the members are an active part of the process. God wants us to learn the lessons necessary to grow into mature Christians and this is why it's very important to place your life in ALL aspects in God's care. This is truly laying up treasures in heaven. Notice Christ calls those that blow the trumpet," hypocrites." He states that we should do our praying and giving of charitable deeds in secret so the Father will reward us openly. The reason God wants us to pray in secret is because when the heart is right, and there's no ulterior motive, the act becomes pure and acceptable before the Father. We see many times where a business will give to charity, but their business is given great advertisement on television, and in the news paper. Is their good deed before God as treasures in heaven? Could be that they have their reward because they blew their trumpet very loud for the wrong reasons.
Vain Repetition
We also need to look at what is called vain repetition.
Some have been taught they will be heard if they repeat a sentence over, and
over. What did Christ say about repeating our prayers over and over without
thought as by rote? Matt 6:7-8. "And when you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard
for their many words" Here in this scripture Jesus was addressing a problem
where people used prayer beads, and chanted prayers over and over. These practices
were of pagan origin from many years past and had crept into the Hebrew religion.
He was teaching them that this type of prayer was "Vain" and God
would not hear just because they did so. We should be very diligent in prayer,
and please understand there is a big difference in "vain repetition"
and repetition that is from being diligent, as we will see on into this study.
It is also very important to teach our children to pray so let’s take a look at the subject of how we should teach them to pray. What about this old prayer that many teach their children? "As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take" Question: Is this an acceptable prayer? And some may reply..."Are you saying that God will not accept the prayer of a little child!" Yes I do believe He will, however, I'm saying the parents have the responsibility to teach the child to pray and worship the way that is acceptable to God as instructed by Christ in the word of God. Remember, your children will grow up and continue in what you, or others teach them. This prayer may be fine and even cute for a child but it teaches vain repetition and will not teach a child how to pray in a way that brings them into a good relationship with God as they grow. The child needs to understand who God is and that to pray to Him is the same as being on a spiritual phone and they can tell God anything and they can always reach God no matter where they are, and if they need help they can always count on God. That He loves them and will always be there for them and God is their friend, but to also remember that He is the almighty, and the most important being there is anywhere. This understanding and more is a very important part in our prayer life, and vain repetition voids what can be a very fine relationship with Jesus and God the Father.
Prayer Without Faith is Dead:
The subject of faith has been a focal point of misunderstanding for many
people for many years because misguided teachers have made people believe
they lacked faith when great financial success had not come their way after
giving abundantly to the Church. Others were promised a mate, a good job,
a house, or healing. In fact I have personally seen greedy ministers place
advertisements in the mail with pictures of people and their new homes, stating
below each picture that these people received these homes and cars after sending
money to the minister in question. So the minister states that if YOU want
to be blessed by God then YOU must step out in faith and send as much as you
can to support THEIR ministry. He goes on to say that YOU will receive ten
times as much as YOU send him. So if you want a new house that cost $95,000
dollars then you need to send him at least 10% of that amount. I hope you
can see why this type of thing is not of God, but of the spirit of lust, and
will never be answered by God in a positive way. Please never let these men
take your hard-earned money from your family. The truth is that if you give
what is needed to some poor man or woman without others knowing, or without
expecting something in return from them or God, then you have greatly
pleased God. A person with a heart of giving will give even when no one is
watching and will never expect anything in return. You see; God looks at the
heart and judges that which is pure! Remember this scripture? "Let brotherly
love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some
have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained
with them-- those who are mistreated-- since you yourselves are in the
body also." Heb 13:1-3
There have been a great number of material things people have come to God for and never received. Yes it is true that many prayers have never been answered. Why did their prayer fail to produce fruit? Was it a lack of faith? After all Christ stated that whatever you ask in faith you shall receive right? Let's read it for ourselves. Matt 21:21-22. "So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done, and whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." So if Christ stated whatever we ask in prayer believing we shall receive, why is it that many have not received? Is it because they did not believe? To believe is to accept something as true, genuine, or real. If Jesus is the Messiah than He is true to His word, and He absolutely cannot lie. If He lies, He is a fraud and is not what He claims to be; The Son of God and our savior! This is very serious and has to be solved. Either Jesus lied or the words written here are from man only or many lack faith! Just how do we answer; what is faith and how do we obtain the faith that will move mountains?
What is God trying to teach us?
God wants us to understand we are not equal to Him,
and that He is the creator of all things and is the King of kings, so when
we come before Him we must come in great reverence being very impressed with
Him. We should realize God holds all power in His hands, to give life forever,
or destroy it forever. Some think they can use prayer for the purpose of getting
a high paying job, or that car they want, but we should never have the attitude
that God is our personnel genie that gives us all the physical things we ask
for. It's not that God has love but more that God IS love,
and He wants us to understand that the spiritual gifts such as Love, Wisdom,
and most importantly, God's Holy Spirit to dwell in us is what we should diligently
seek. What did Jesus say concerning treasures? Matt 6:19-21. "Do not
lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves
do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also." In fact I will go so far as to say that if all God ever gave
us was His Holy Spirit that we would never need anything else, because to
have His Holy Spirit is to have all things. We need to come to the place in
our lives where we just turn our lives over to Him in complete trust and truly
come to understand and believe that we are saved once and for all by the sacrifice
of Jesus the Messiah. It is that belief that IS faith. It is not a matter
of continuing to lay the foundation of repentance but to go on to perfection
asking in prayer for more of His Spirit so we can love Him, and become more
like Him in loving others. When we experience real
love for others we will feel connected not only to our fellow man but to God
as well.
Stirring, Powerful Prayer:
Do you stir God to action when you pray, or do you just ask in a mild mannered
way? Yes, we are to show great respect for God and come in great humility,
but this does not mean in a weak manner. Being humble is not being weak! God
does not want us to be weak in anything we do, and when we come before Him;
being humble we need to be "stirred up" about our request. If you
are not seeking Him with great conviction of your request, then how can you
expect God to be stirred up about it? When a person has an elder anoint them
with oil for healing and that elder does not have tears in his eyes afterwards;
then he did not feel the pain and suffering of the person he was asking God
to have mercy on. The scripture is clear on what to do if any are sick, but
the oil that is used for anointing is not magic oil! It's the representation
of the Holy Spirit and should be looked upon as the representation only and
not as the Holy Spirit. By calling the elder of the Church and having him
anoint with oil is in line with obedience to the instruction given in God's
word. It's the obedience with faith and repentance of sin as well as stirring
God's compassion towards those that are sick that brings answered prayer in
many cases.
What about King David? Why did he have such great faith in God? When a bear, or lion took a lamb from his flock, David killed the
bear, or lion and took the lamb from their mouth. 1 Sam 17:32-37. When Goliath
came against the armies of
Why couldn't Jesus do very many works among His own country?
Jesus is of God and can do anything, so why is it He could not heal very
many because they did not believe. What does us believing
have to do with the healing power of God? Mark 6:2-4. "And when
the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing
Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And
what wisdom is this, which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed
by His hands! "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother
of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His
sisters here with us?" And they were offended at Him. But Jesus said
to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among
his own relatives, and in his own house." They could not believe Jesus
came from God the Father because they knew Him from the time He was born.
They grew up with Him so they could not believe He was the Messiah. Just
like many ministers have the same problem with teaching their own parents,
wife, or friends.
He should be able to heal with out our believing right?
Lets look at another scripture to illustrate this
point. John 11:21-27. "Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even
now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will
give You." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection
at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and
the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die,
he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me
shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes,
Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the
world." Martha had to come to believe Christ is the resurrection, and
had life inherent in Him. She had to know He was the savior. What was the
main point Jesus made to the two blind men before He would heal them? Matt
9:27-30. "When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him,
crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy
on us!" And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him.
And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying,
"According to your faith let it be to you."
And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See
that no one knows it." Christ made the statement many times before He
called on the Holy Spirit (The power of God) to work a miracle, "DO YOU
BELIEVE I CAN DO IT?" And many times He stated "According to
your faith let it be to you."
What was the greatest example of faith Christ ever saw?
Matt 8:5-10. "Now when Jesus had entered
Jesus said that men always ought to pray and NOT LOSE HEART. What did Christ
declare?
Matt 7:7-8. "Ask, and it will
be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Notice
here the words seek, knock, and ask, are action words and words that denote
having faith.) "For everyone who asks receives, and
he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. DO YOU
BELIEVE THIS? If not then you are saying God is not true to His Word! You
would be committing the same sin Adam and Eve committed in the garden because
they were told what to do, what not to do, and what would happen if they disobeyed.
"They did not believe God" but believed the lie from Satan and sinned.
As stated before, sin cuts us off from God; so if we don't believe God when
He states He loves us and wants all good things for us, and will give us all
good things that our joy may be full; we are cutting ourselves off from Him
and His power resulting in unanswered prayer.
Love and Forgiveness:
Let's look at the next
important step after repentance and baptism. The next very important step
is allowing the Holy Spirit (The power of God) to flow in us from God and
flowing out from us to others with the transforming power of love that can
only come from God. I Must say if everyone had the faith to move mountains
with out love this world would be in total disorder and confusion. What did
Christ say was the greatest commandment? To love God above
all. Matt 22:36-38. What did He say was the second great Commandment?
To love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Matt 22:39-40. So when
we pray we should be asking mostly for the good of others, not for ourselves
only and realize that God knows what we have need of before we ask. Might it be possible God wants us
learning to love and care for others? Might it just be possible God will
answer our prayers after we have sincerely learned to have more compassion
on others? Is it just possible that when God looks at your loving and unselfish
deeds He will make your path good because His heart will be touched by your
love for others? If we will yield our wills over to God in complete trust
that He will do all for good, and if we seek and receive in ourselves the
love, and mind of God in our lives we can truly live without anxiety and be
free from fear. The true meaning of faith the way Jesus meant it, is to "place
your physical, and spiritual well-being (Health, happiness, and prosperity)
into the care of Jesus the Messiah, trusting Him to give you what is good
for you and all that's involved. Let's understand that we must become like
a child in the care of their father, or mother, trusting with "complete"
trust.... "complete faith."
What did John teach? I John 4:18. "There's no fear in love; but perfect
love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not
been made perfect in love." God desires our love. Let that
sink into your mind, really meditate on that concept! Although faith is very
important to answered prayer, we can understand how love is the major key
to answered prayer. God who is love answers prayer based on love; so we must
ask in love. What other examples did Jesus show that faith in God works? Mark
11:20-25. Notice again a very important point in vs. 25, If
we have anything against anyone we need to "forgive them." To forgive
is to give up resentment of those who have offended us in some way. Now we
really need to understand what forgiving has to do with faith! If we go on
without fully coming to understand forgiveness we will rarely have our prayers
answered, because to forgive is to love. To desire to forgive is to feel a
kind of compassion that results in mercy. If we have mercy God will have mercy,
but if we don't.
As we read above Jesus taught how
to pray, and the important points concerning prayer, so let’s take to heart
some more teaching of our Lord in
Matt 18:21-35 "Then Peter came
to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and
I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not
say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
To forgive others:
Just as stated above we can't
judge anything in any ones life in a condemning way, and that includes motives
in any given situation. This is the very reason we are to have understanding
towards the weaknesses of others, and this is the very reason Jesus told the
story concerning the man that was forgiven by the King. Brethren, we should
realize the great seriousness of what God is doing. We should be very humble
and thankful realizing that without God's love and grace we would be condemned
without any hope what-so-ever. So by the word of God we see that it's possible
to think we have mercy from God when we don't because we have not had mercy
on others. We can think God hears our prayers but as we see it's possible
He does not because not only what we are asking for, but why we are asking.
In some cases we do need to go to others and make peace, but this does not
mean we must necessarily go to the person or persons in every case to forgive
them. Forgiveness from the heart is what counts most of the time, and God
will see if you have truly forgiven because true forgiveness will be reflected
in our actions and feelings towards those that we have forgiven. Also
if we have not truly forgiven those that offend us, it will come out when
we are angry, or upset in the future. This should not upset us, or cause self
condemnation, but should be used as tools to help us realize the problem still
exist and we need to correct it. Please remember that God always looks on
the heart!
What we need to do is come to a place in our Christian growth where we can have "compassion" and "understanding" towards others weaknesses, and realize that they too have insecurities that cause them to come to wrong conclusions just like we do. We humans not only have to fight our own nature and what ever in our past that may cause fears, (which makes us put up walls) but we must contend with the other persons human nature as well. We then have to guess in many cases, what the problem may be and did we goof, or was it the other person. Sometimes problems come on us because a third party has sown lies around about us. This is very difficult to deal with because in many cases the one sowing the lies appears as your friend. Jesus Himself had to deal with such a person named Judas Iscariot and the important lesson was that Jesus did not deal with him personally, but instead He let Judas fall in his own trap, and judgment was from God the Father. This is the best way to deal with most people, because God knows them and will judge righteously. When God does deal with your enemy's please understand that we should never be smug and gloat in their suffering lest God then has mercy on them and turn their suffering on those that gloat.
Be unbiased:
There's another way we can come to understand the mistakes that happen,
and causes problems among us all. This way is to try and be unbiased with
all people, even of ourselves. This will help us consider all the facts in
all situations where we can come to a better conclusion as to why someone
did what they did. I have found that in many cases the one that did the offense
did not even realize they offended someone. If we put off our opinions until
all the facts are understood then we can put out a lot of fires before they
start. The problem comes in most of the time because we act on our emotions
first, and then we get locked into our FIRST impressions of the situation,
then we only consider the words or actions that verify our conclusion. After
this we can't hear or see the words or actions of "I'm sorry", or
body language that reflect "please forgive me". If we would "look
for reasons" to forgive and if we would "look for reasons"
to be peacemakers, we would grow greatly as Christians and gain many to Christ.
If we would think of all people as a fellow child of God we might have a better
attitude towards their offense. This is difficult for most of us as I know
it is for me, but the Holy Spirit can help us in all things. This is what
the apostles called walking in the Spirit.
Some will think that we can't look for reasons to be peacemakers because this would put them in the position to have to compromise in some way. Compromising does not always mean we have to make a shameful or dishonorable concession. I'm very aware of the movement that is working to get us to compromise true doctrine for the sake of peace in the Churches. To be peacemakers does not mean we have to give up true doctrine for the sake of peace. We should NEVER compromise truth or moral behavior for the sake of love, peace, or unity or when the compromise is dishonorable in any manner. We should NEVER compromise the true doctrines of God for any reason. We can and do compromise however when we sign a contract for a loan on a house or car. There are things in these contracts that you might not like, but you can live with them because they do not require you to sin. So in the same way we need to look for things that we can live with when it comes to differences with others, or we will be doomed to have trouble with many we come to know.
When we learn to forgive we then are free to love the way God wants us to, and then we can live anxiety free. Not only can we live anxiety free with the love of God in our lives we can have the true faith in God that He intended for us all along. Not the counterfeit powerless faith Satan wants all humanity to accept, causing people to believe God is just a myth or that God is not really concerned with us. God is concerned for our physical needs; He created us to need air, food, water and clothing, but He does not want us to become obsessed with them. What did Christ say about these things and what is His attitude towards our need for food and clothing. Matt 6:25-26. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
What did Christ tell us to seek first? Matt 6:33. "But seek first
the
Understanding Faith:
What was the author's definition of faith in Heb
11:1-3. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
Having hope comes by trusting God, and trusting comes by getting to know Him
and learning He is reliable. Also notice the very important point in verse
three "That through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the WORD of God," Brethren, when God speaks, the command has to be fulfilled!
When God commanded the waters to part at the
I stated this above but it is well worth repeating. The true meaning of faith, and to believe Jesus is to "place your physical, and spiritual well-being (Health, happiness, and prosperity) into the care of Jesus the Messiah, trusting Him to give you what is good for you and all that's involved. To trust that God the Father sent Jesus to save you from your sins, and to bring you into His Kingdom at His return. We must become like a child in the care of their father, or mother, trusting with complete trust. Let's look at the word trust here so we can grasps the true meaning. The word "Trust" means to rely on, to put your full confidence in the one you trust. Trusting God means that no matter what He decides to do, you will accept the fact that it's for the best because you truly have come to understand that the outcome may be for the good of others as well.
Diligently seek Him
What are the two points brought out in Heb 11:6?
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are
seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that
he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead
still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,
"and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was
taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who "diligently"
seek Him."
Notice, we must come in faith, and "diligently" seek Him to receive the reward. To be diligent is to be earnest and steady without wavering. God just might hold back in answering to see if your faith is wavering, and to strengthen your faith. Let's carefully read the story Jesus told about the widow and unjust judge. Luke 18:1-8. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to "pray and not lose heart", saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Remember what we covered in the beginning of this study concerning praying in vain repetition? Remember I stated that just because God knows what you have need of does not mean you should not diligently seek Him. Again, what Jesus was admonishing them about was "Vain repetition", not repetition. We must go to God with all diligence, keeping in mind that we must be stirred up before God will be stirred towards us. We must be seeking the true love of God so we may obtain real faith, in order to live our lives with a profound relationship with God the Father and our elder brother Jesus the Messiah; looking forward to the coming Kingdom when all humanity can share in this Kingdom with us. We must remember, prayer is always answered, but not necessarily in the time or way we want. If we will trust God's judgments and have the humble attitude to accept His decision, we can rest in peace knowing all is well. This is where true faith comes into play. Without faith you can not please God, for he who comes to Him must (a command) believe. If we don't believe Jesus is the Messiah that came down from His throne in heaven, to suffer, and die, so we may be justified before The Most Holy Father, then we are still in our sins, separated from God and a very shallow life before death is all we have for our future.
We have seen that faith has to do with the love of God, as well as learning about God, and in this relationship coming to trust Him. We have seen that trust and reliability is something very important and is based on God being trustworthy and reliable. We have learned that the Word of God is all-powerful, and when God commands, it MUST happen. We have learned we must accept God's will in our lives and rest in His love knowing that all things work out for the good to those who love God, and are working according to His purpose, Rom. 8: 28. We must pray, study, and fast to God in order to truly come to a real and profound understanding of having faith in Him, keeping faith growing by not losing heart. We must stir, and evoke the Spirit of God always or it will like a fire, go out. We must never believe that we can give money to some preacher and he will GET God to GIVE us a house, car, or even health. We must never believe faith is something we have to WORK UP in order to get God's attention! If we do, we will never have the powerful faith that King David had. Although having faith is very important, let's not forget that the love that comes from God is greater. 1 Cor 13:13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love. You might want to read our paper titled "Healing Faith" as well.
I. The Instruction on Prayer Mark 11:20-26
A. Prayer of the righteous Jas. 5:16
B. Earnest in prayer Col. 4:2
C. Prayer and Fasting Matt. 17:21
D. Prayer of Thanksgiving Phil.1:1-11
E. Prayer for the Colossians Col. 1:9-14
F. Prayer and supplication Acts 1:14, Php. 4:6
G. Prayer of Thanksgiving Phil. 1-7
H. Prayer for Boldness Act. 4:23-31
J. Prayer for the sick Jas. 5:15
Following verses in the book of James
I. The Test and Purpose of Faith 1:1-18
A. The Source of Temptations 1:13-18
II. The Characteristics of Faith 1:19-5:6
A. Faith Obeys the Word 1:19-27
B. Faith Removes Discriminations 2:1-13
C. Faith Proves Itself by Works 2:14-26
D. Faith Controls the Tongue 3:1-12
E. Faith Produces Wisdom 3:13-18
F. Faith Produces Humility 4:1-12
G. Faith Produces Dependence on God 4:13-5:6
III. The Triumph of Faith 5:7-20
A. Faith Endures, Awaiting Christ's Return 5:7-12
B. Faith Prays for the Afflicted 5:13-18
C. Faith Confronts the Erring Brother 5:19-20
Following verses in the book of Hebrews
IV. A Call to Full Assurance of Faith 10:19-11:40
A. Hold Fast the Confession of Faith 10:19-25
B. Fourth Warning: Danger of Drawing Back 10:26-39
C. Definition of Faith 11:1-3
D. Examples of Faith 11:4-40
1. Abel 11:4
2. Enoch 11:5-6
3. Noah 11:7
4. Abraham and Sarah 11:8-19
5. Isaac 11:20
6. Jacob 11:21
7. Joseph 11:22
8. Moses' Parents 11:23
9. Moses 11:24-29
10. Joshua and Rahab 11:30-31
11. Many Other Heroes of Faith 11:32-40
V. Endurance of Faith 12:1-29
A. Example of Christ's Endurance 12:1-4
B. A Call to Endure God's Chastening 12:5-24
C. Fifth Warning: Danger of Refusing God 12:25-29
In Jesus' service:
Timothy M. Youngblood