When I was about 14, my sister and I went to my mother and told her that we wanted Shepherd puppies. I wanted a girl, and my sister wanted a boy. My mother didn't have the money to buy us a dog of any kind! So, she told us to pray and ask God.
My sister and I went together to a quiet spot and put our petition forth to God- very specific about what we wanted. We had the faith of little children that God was going to answer our request. I'm not sure exactly what my mom was thinking, but the next morning out by our mailbox were two little American Shepherd puppies- one girl and one boy.
That was my first experience with faith and answered prayer. As I've grown, I've asked God for many things, and I've seen Him answer many of my requests. But, it wasn't until recently that I understood what faith was.
I Samuel 30:1-2, 8, 18-19- And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them: David recovered all.
This story above is the best story in the Bible about biblical faith. Why? Well, if this were me, I would have instantly went after my family and then on the way asked God to bless what I was doing. But, that's not faith. Faith is getting down and asking God what it is that He wants us to do and then confidently going and doing what He says. David asked God first, and then he went and recovered all because he knew he was in God's will.
Our idea of faith is asking God to help us with something, and then going about to figure out how to accomplish it. Too many times after we ask God to help us with something, we "charge it" and expect God to pay the bill. That's not faith. Faith isn't an immediate response to a situation. Faith is taking time to pray and ask God what is right, and then following his lead.
Matthew 21:22- And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
James 4:3- Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
These two verses seem to contradict, but if you learn how faith and prayer are suppose to work, then you will understand how these verses go hand-in-hand.
Ask for God's will.
Pray for God's will.
Wait for God's will.
Then you can ask and believe that you will receive, because you aren't asking amiss.
I can say that I am guilty of going my way and expecting God to back me up because I "believed" that He would. I had a false understanding of what faith exactly was. I wasn't "naming it and claiming it" like some of those Christians, but in my own way I was saying it and then trying to make it happen how I wanted it to turn out. It wasn't until I realized what faith was that I could further grow in my walk with Christ.
Sometimes, God answers with an immediate "yes" to what we pray. Other times, His answer is "no", and yet we still try to go about getting what we want our way. Then there are those occasions, which happen to me often, where God says "wait". And those are the hardest times to have faith!
Proper faith will now only have an impact on how you handle circumstances, but also how you pray about them. It will temper your wants as well as give you patience. It's not an easy thing to "wait on the Lord", but 'God always gives the best to them that leave the choice to Him' -Hudson Taylor.
Do you have any stories of faith? Is there a chapter in your book of life that reads like Hebrews 11? IF not, when are you going to get your stories?
