Moving the Hand Of God.

     We cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). So when we pray; we ask and we believe. Well, we say we believe, but how do our words and our heart line up? However much they do, this is the measure of our faith.
     Do we pray with a thankful heart, and believe, but then contradict ourselves by going around expressing things such as; “But what if?” and “Nothing’s happening” or “This situation is never going to change.” If we do this; how is that faith? How does it please God?  Why do we wonder when nothing changes? The Bible tells me that words are powerful things. They carry the seeds of life and death. The first chapter of the book of John tells us that Jesus is The Word. He is Logos. He spoke the world into being. If Christians are to be imitators of our Lord, we come to realize the power that words hold in our lives and the lives of those to whom we speak them.  Proverbs 23: says that, “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” What we think, we speak. Jesus taught us a great deal about faith, He said astonishing things such as, “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” Mark 11:23---This is deeply profound, and possibly well over my head. I have often wondered why exactly I would pray for a mountain to be thrown into the ocean..... But I am thinking that He made a hugely amazing statement to prove an astounding point. The combination of speaking out our faith and prayer moves the hand of God.
So why do we pray? Many reasons come to mind, but one vital reason is that God want us to trust Him and lay astonishing requests before Him. He wants to do mighty things for us. The first chapter of James tells us to ask, and God, who gives liberally, will give us all that we ask. But we must not doubt. We must not ask ‘double-minded’ or we cannot expect anything. He tells us that a double-minded person is unstable in all of their ways. I know that feeling. I have spent many an unstable day just agonizing back and forth on simply things that should have been laid at the feet of Christ and left there.
    Here is the thing I have been realizing. When you pray, either you believe that God is answering, or don’t bother to pray. Otherwise it is a useless exercise and you may as well just be reading of a laundry list of your own, and other’s miseries. Engaging in prayer with God is about expectation. Expectation that first; He always hears, and then secondly that He always answers. Even if the answer is no, or if it is not what we anticipated or wanted, He always answers. There must be a trust that He is taking care of it, or else why do we come? Why do we take the time? It becomes all form and no content.
So when I have finished praying and asking for something, and after I have said ‘amen’, then my words (and attitude) to those around me, and the silent resolve of my heart and mind must be, “Yes”. It must be settled and done. Jesus tells us to keep coming and asking. But, I think that it must be with a sense of praise, thankfulness and expectation for answers that I have not yet beheld, but are never-the-less there and simply, in this moment, in the realm of the unseen. Tonya Willman, © 2011