Prayer of Faith

 Prayer of Faith

July 2, 2025

Mark 11:24-25

24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25 Wheneveryou stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

James 5:13-16

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offeredin faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

This week, we have been talking about intercessory prayer, which is basically praying for someone else. When we see sickness and oppression in those around you, you want to see them healed and set free. But what is the key to seeing those prayers answered? In Mark 11, Jesus instructs his disciples to pray, believing that they would receive an answer. So how do you pray and believe? That is one of the eternal questions of the Christian walk. Even the disciples, that walked with Jesus for three years struggled to believe. In the passage in Mark, the discussion started when they saw the withered fig tree that Jesus had cursed the day before. They saw the immediate results of Jesus’ prayer, and yet they had difficulty believing, so how do we pray in faith? I don’t think there is a pat answer. Part of the answer is just to commit to walk with Jesus regardless of what you see. After the disciples saw the fig tree wither and die in one day, they had more faith than they did the day before. So faith can grow when you see the results of prayer. 

Another key is forgiveness. Both of the passages quoted couple the prayer of faith with forgiveness. We will not see our prayers answered if we harbor unforgiveness in our heart. Forgiving and being forgiven increases our faith. When we truly repent and realize the great power in forgiveness, it becomes easier to pray for others,  believing that they also will be forgiven and healed.

There is a lot more that can be said about this topic, but the important thing is to do what you know to do. Pray and believe, in what little faith you have today, and that faith will grow, so that tomorrow, you will see more results than today. Keep repenting and confessing, and forgiveness will cleans your soul so that the power of the Holy Spirit can more more freely in you life. Commit to walk with Jesus every day, and listen to His voice. He will teach you to pray and believe, and when you have more faith, you will see more people healed and set free.