{"id":2301,"date":"2020-04-10T11:44:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T11:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dougburgett.net\/blog\/?p=2301"},"modified":"2020-04-10T11:44:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T11:44:19","slug":"connecting-prayer-with-faith-and-why-it-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dougburgett.net\/blog\/connecting-prayer-with-faith-and-why-it-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting Prayer With Faith and Why It Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you\u2019ve received it, it will be yours. <\/p>Mark 11:24 NLT<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to note the lack of guarantees in life, but are we missing something? Is this our biggest blind spot as humans? Mark 11:24 seems clear that anything can be guaranteed, as long as we pray and believe. So, why aren\u2019t we getting what we want all the time? Why does it still seem like there are no guarantees in life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer is Complex<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prayer seems simple, and maybe it actually is. We ask God for something, we believe we\u2019ve received it, and then we go about our business. But how does that work? What if I pray for world peace, as I\u2019m sure thousands upon thousands of people already have? Are these questions rooted in doubt, therefore breaking my faith in the power of prayer from the start? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer is something I\u2019ve always wrestled with, and I know I\u2019m not alone. Yes, Mark 11:24 makes it sound quite simple, but we humans have a tendency to overcomplicate things. We have very little faith and a strong desire for things to happen on our timeline, not God\u2019s. We also try desperately to figure everything out. It is unsettling to engage with an activity in which we have no idea how it actually works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m no expert on the topic of prayer, but I do know that it\u2019s a complicated thing to grasp. I also know that the kingdom of God is best understood by children (Luke 18:16), so perhaps I make prayer complicated when there\u2019s really nothing to it but faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking to God<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most overwhelming aspects of prayer is that we\u2019re directly addressing God, the all-powerful creator of heaven and earth. What a thought. It\u2019s almost impossible for us to grasp that we have a direct line of communication to the most powerful being in the entire universe, whenever we need it. We don\u2019t have to dial a number or have an internet connection. All we have to do is talk and He\u2019s listening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is God listening, He\u2019s willing to help us out. Mark 11:24 says we can pray for anything and then believe that we\u2019ve received it. The most powerful being in the entire universe is taking requests! Your requests! That\u2019s wild. Almost too wild to believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re supposed to do. Believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having Faith<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hebrews 11:1 says, \u201cfaith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.\u201d<\/a> That sounds like prayer to me; hoping and believing in something that we asked God to do. The Bible doesn\u2019t tell us that what we pray for will happen immediately, or even in the way that our mind is picturing. In fact, there are few specifics about how God will make our prayers come to be. The only thing we know based on Mark 11:24 is that we need to believe. We must have faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, this sounds simple, but everyone knows how difficult it is to have faith, especially when we\u2019re impatient or desperate. We\u2019re needy people and many times when we pray we want something to happen at a specific time or in a specific way. Is this how prayer works? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It isn\u2019t our job to work the details of our prayer requests. If we have everything figured out then why do we need God\u2019s help? Are we really expecting the most powerful being in the universe to simply carry out our wishes? No. We\u2019re lifting up our needs and concerns and believing that God will take care of them in His way on His timeline. Our job is to have faith in the process and faith that our needs will be met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Power of Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without faith our prayer life is going nowhere fast. Not only are we not following God\u2019s simple instructions within Mark 11:24, but we\u2019re not taking advantage of the power of prayer. Having faith means we\u2019re confident in what we hope for. It means we\u2019re sure of what we don\u2019t see. What happens if we have faith and we pray bold prayers? Isn\u2019t that what we\u2019re supposed to do? We\u2019re tapping into the most powerful being in the universe, why would we pray for things that we ourselves can handle? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark 11:24 doesn\u2019t say anything about limiting what we pray for. In fact, it\u2019s quite the opposite. It says ask for anything. No limits. No restrictions. Ask for whatever you want. The only trick is you actually have to believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark 11:24 directly connects our faith with our prayers, saying we can get whatever we want as long as we believe. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christianity","is-cat-link-borders-light"],"yoast_head":"\nConnecting Prayer With Faith and Why It Matters - Doug Burgett<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dougburgett.net\/blog\/connecting-prayer-with-faith-and-why-it-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Connecting Prayer With Faith and Why It Matters - 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