Silas
Beloved of All
It is good that you are looking to the Scriptures and wanting to trust God to act. God does invite us to ask Him, and His Word says ask and you will receive, and that we have not because we ask not. He wants us to bring our needs to Him with confidence.
At the same time the Bible teaches us what that asking means. Receiving from God is not a matter of repeating words or claiming verses as if they were a formula that obligates Him. The Holy Spirit is received by faith, as a gift, not by works of the law or by our own effort to deserve it. Miracles among God's people happen the same way, by the hearing of faith and the working of His Spirit, not because we have earned them or learned a technique.
True faith is also more than wanting a miracle. The Scripture points us to Abraham, whose faith God counted for righteousness. It was not his actions that made him righteous, but the faith that prompted his obedience. Those who share that kind of faith become the true children of Abraham, heirs of the promise that God will bless and multiply. That promise rests first on being made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. By grace we are saved through faith, and that faith itself is a gift of God. Apart from trusting Christ for forgiveness, there is no ground to claim other promises.
God has given many rich and precious promises, and He is able to do what He has promised. We are called to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Yet the Word also says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. God does not always answer the moment we pray. There is often a time of testing between the prayer and the answer, and patience is needed while faith is proved.
The examples of faith in Hebrews help here. Some through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness and obtained promises. Others with the same faith endured suffering, torture and great hardship. All of them died in faith, not having received everything that was promised, but having seen it afar off and embraced it. Faith is not blind. It actually sees more than sight does, because it sees the faithfulness of God beyond what is visible. But having faith does not guarantee that we will be spared suffering or that every desire will be granted quickly or exactly as we picture it.
For that reason a faith that is built only on seeing miracles is shallow. Many believed when they saw miracles, yet that kind of excitement did not produce a deep trust in the Word of God. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. At times He gives a special gift of faith for a particular need or moment, as when Peter was given faith to pray for the lame man, but that is His gift to give, not something we can work up in ourselves. We cannot manufacture faith by trying to convince ourselves.
True faith will also show itself in life. Faith without works is dead, not because works earn anything, but because genuine faith changes us and leads to obedience. If we say we believe, our lives will begin to conform to what we believe.
So continue to ask, but ask as one who has first trusted Jesus for salvation, who rests in His Word, who is willing to wait with patience and to submit to His will. Prayer should teach us obedience and submission, even when the answer is not as we desired. Bring your requests to Him plainly, trust His wisdom and love to answer in the way that is best, give Him glory while you wait, and let your faith be seen in a life that follows Him. That is the path on which God delights to show His power and blessing according to His perfect will.
At the same time the Bible teaches us what that asking means. Receiving from God is not a matter of repeating words or claiming verses as if they were a formula that obligates Him. The Holy Spirit is received by faith, as a gift, not by works of the law or by our own effort to deserve it. Miracles among God's people happen the same way, by the hearing of faith and the working of His Spirit, not because we have earned them or learned a technique.
True faith is also more than wanting a miracle. The Scripture points us to Abraham, whose faith God counted for righteousness. It was not his actions that made him righteous, but the faith that prompted his obedience. Those who share that kind of faith become the true children of Abraham, heirs of the promise that God will bless and multiply. That promise rests first on being made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. By grace we are saved through faith, and that faith itself is a gift of God. Apart from trusting Christ for forgiveness, there is no ground to claim other promises.
God has given many rich and precious promises, and He is able to do what He has promised. We are called to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. Yet the Word also says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. God does not always answer the moment we pray. There is often a time of testing between the prayer and the answer, and patience is needed while faith is proved.
The examples of faith in Hebrews help here. Some through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness and obtained promises. Others with the same faith endured suffering, torture and great hardship. All of them died in faith, not having received everything that was promised, but having seen it afar off and embraced it. Faith is not blind. It actually sees more than sight does, because it sees the faithfulness of God beyond what is visible. But having faith does not guarantee that we will be spared suffering or that every desire will be granted quickly or exactly as we picture it.
For that reason a faith that is built only on seeing miracles is shallow. Many believed when they saw miracles, yet that kind of excitement did not produce a deep trust in the Word of God. Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. At times He gives a special gift of faith for a particular need or moment, as when Peter was given faith to pray for the lame man, but that is His gift to give, not something we can work up in ourselves. We cannot manufacture faith by trying to convince ourselves.
True faith will also show itself in life. Faith without works is dead, not because works earn anything, but because genuine faith changes us and leads to obedience. If we say we believe, our lives will begin to conform to what we believe.
So continue to ask, but ask as one who has first trusted Jesus for salvation, who rests in His Word, who is willing to wait with patience and to submit to His will. Prayer should teach us obedience and submission, even when the answer is not as we desired. Bring your requests to Him plainly, trust His wisdom and love to answer in the way that is best, give Him glory while you wait, and let your faith be seen in a life that follows Him. That is the path on which God delights to show His power and blessing according to His perfect will.
