"Why am I not believing?"
There are many many variables involved. And this is true in all areas of life, not just prayer and faith. But the point of this manifesto is that we can instantly rule out one issue: and that is the will of God regarding answering prayer offered in faith. Jesus said this again and again:
15:7
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Mat 21:22
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Joh 14:13
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 15:16
16 ... that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Joh 16:23-24
23... Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.
24 ...ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
1Jo 3:22
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, ...
1Jo 5:15
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Mat 18:19
19 ... That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mar 11:22-24
22 And answering, Jesus said to them, Have faith of God.
23 For truly I say to you, Whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and be thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be to him, whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, All things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you will receive, and it will be to you
In these verses the only requirement is that we believe. The decision lies with us, not with God. He has said that if we pray in faith we will receive. He does not say no. If we do not recieve, it is because for some reason (whatever reason) there is no belief present in us. The previous page listed a number of issues (there are more) why belief may not be present in us. Not all of these are our fault or even faults at all. I realize there is a trend going around that says to not have faith for something is bad and says something negative about the prayer. It is really neither good nor bad... it is just a state, or a condition that exists within us. The reason we do not possess faith for something may actually have nothing to do with our quality or effort. There are some things that simply cannot be believed for because they are outside the realm of our faith, or they are simply "non-believable" issues. You cannot pray for spheres to be sqaure. If you did they would cease to be a spheres. You cannot pray for the moon to be made of cheese... that is simply beyond the scope of your ability to believe. You cannot believe the righteous into hell nor the lost into heaven. These too are beyond the scope of your ability/authority to believe. GOD DOES NOT SAY NO to these kinds of prayers. He just does not hear them to start with because they are not offered up in faith(because you cannot "believe"/"believe for" these things). So the only condition for receiving is: can you believe. If you cannot, then you do not recieve. It is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong. It is just circumstance and condition.
BUT: One thing we can instantly rule out is that God says no. There is a circular reasoning here. People who think that God says no have a very difficult time getting prayers answered because they assume the answer to their prayer could be "no". Because they assume the answer to the prayer could be no, they cannot believe that it is yes. If you cannot beleive that it is yes, you are not excercising faith. Faith believes that we receive when we ask. Because they cannot/do not believe, they do not receive. It is a self destroying position to take. I have actually found that people who think God says no have a very difficult time getting prayers answered for this very reason. They do not believe because they do not know that He is saying Yes. There is only one way to know He always says yes, and that is to believe He never says no. If you accept the fact that He never says no, then you will realize that the onus is on you and your faith, not on Him and a Yes/No decision.
Sometimes we will be frustrated. Sometimes we may feel like we are failing.
There is a learning curve.
Well is that not what life and growth is all about? We succeed at some things and when we do not: we find out why and move on to correct the issues. If I fail to get a job; should I get despressed, throw my hands up and give up? Or do I work hard to achieve those things that are nessecary to qualify? If I fail a test; do I get frustrated, blame the test and the testor and wallow in low-self esteem? Or do I study hard and retake the test? What does faith tell you to do? Give up? No.. faith says we will prevail. What does hope tell you to do? It says we can do it. Most of all, what does love tell you to do? Love never fails. Faith that works through love availeth much! This is just a part of growing up not only spiritually, but mentally and in the natural. Believers should be as mature in their relationship with God as they are in their jobs, schools, and families. I am not trying to be hard or cold here. This is the same thing I would tell my kids when they failed to get a job or pass a test. It is just life. If God is fair ( and He is more than fair, He is merciful), then we must believe that the answer will surface and it will be fair and merciful. That is what believing God is all about.
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