Here are three verses, how they’ve challenged me, then my overwhelming conviction at the end.

Mark 6:5-6
«And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.»­

There is something about when we don’t trust/believe God, that keeps him from really working powerfully in our lives. I am not completely sure why this is, but it is true. (I have a few ideas about this, but I’ll have to write about it later if you want…)

Mark 9:17-19, 22-24
«One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
[...]
22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”»

There have been, I think, a lot of messages given on this passage, yet it doesn’t loose any power for me. The disciples didn’t have enough faith to drive out the evil spirit in the boy. To this Jesus seemed frustrated and almost annoyed, “How long must I put up with you?” He asked. Then, the boy’s father’s lack of faith shows through in how he asks Jesus to heal his child. He says, “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” (emphasis mine, of course). This too, it seems, frustrates Jesus. He replies, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Anything is possible if a person believes.” Jesus seems appalled at this comment; I almost read an implied “are you kidding me?” between the lines there.

The point of this passage, I believe, are in Jesus’ words as he says, “Anything is possible if a person believes.” Quick, a little gut check: do you believe that? I’m not talking intellectually—we probably all believe it intellectually—but practically, in your everyday life (everyday prayer life?), do you believe it? That anything is possible?

Okay, last one:

Mark 11:23-24
«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. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.»

Again, a well-known passage. It’s pretty self-explanatory, so I won’t talk about it a lot, just again that question: do we really believe this? If faith is expressed in action, do you think you have faith in this promise? How does this promise change or inform you actions?

The final thing I want to write is I have become convicted about how much of God’s word I just simply don’t believe. I believe it in my head, but in my heart I fail to. I have heard verses that say “ask for anything in prayer and it will be yours”, I’ve tried without significant faith, and because of my lack of faith I’ve not seen the power of God. Instead of fighting for greater faith, I’VE SETTLED FOR A POWERLESS CHRISTIAN LIFE. I’ve learned to explain away the promises I don’t have faith to live by. I’ve developed a habit of adding conditions to God’s promises that ARE NOT THERE, to make myself feel better when I don’t enough faith to live by them.

I am so convicted that this is really wicked of me. In a real sense, as I don’t believe what God says is true about himself, it’s like making a false god. The sickening thing is the false god I often choose to believe in, is weak and uninvolved. Brothers and sisters, our God is not weak and he surely is not uninvolved in our lives. Let’s really work at believing what he says is true and experiencing Him in the full glory of his power by accepting all of His promises at face value and most importantly by really living by them.

Thanks for reading this, it’s a pretty significant lesson I’m learning and it blesses me greatly to be able to write it down and solidify it in my own mind. I hope you’re blessed by it too.

Prayer has been a challenge for me this summer. I really, truly, honestly believe (in my head) that prayer is profitable. God has shown me time and again that he responds to it. Yet, I still have had a lot of trouble in being faithful with it. It really bothers me, but I am going to accept God’s grace and move on.

Here are some thoughts things I’ve learned about prayer in this struggle:

1. Prayer does change things outside of us (see the OT), but more often it changes things inside of us. When we come before our Father, humbly and honestly, and just abide (often silently) in His presence, it allows him opportunity to change our hearts. This, I am coming to believe, is probably one of the most important aspects of prayer. A lot of things God has determined in advance. Prayer doesn’t, maybe, have a profound impact on those things. Prayer does have a profound impact on our hearts as we let it.

2. God is real. He is as real and as present as anyone you know. If we are not aware of God’s realness when we pray to him, our prayers will likely not be offered in faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (NIV)

If we don’t honestly believe God exists, our prayers will not be offered in faith (and they will not please God, incidentally, either).

James talks further about this, specifically, a man who doubts when he prays shouldn’t expect to receive anything from God… read it for more info.

3. One of the biggest hindrances to prayer, in my life, has been a faulty understanding of God’s grace. When I sin or when I am not achieving what I perceive as success as a Christian, it becomes quite difficult for me to want to be with God. The most transforming passage that I have found to help me set my mind on truth is this:

Hebrews 10:11-23 (ESV)

11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.13Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool,14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

16″This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

17Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The main points from this that have helped me in prayer are how before God there is nothing I can do to make up for my sin. Anything I would do would be inadequate, but it doesn’t say that specifically here. What it says here is that everything has already been done. Verse 18 says that where sin has been forgiven, there is no longer any offering for it. There’s nothing left for me to do. Feeling bad or trying to make up for my faults is worthless. Not only that, but it is a rebellious rejection of God’s provision. Learning to simply accept God’s gift is a big step towards effective prayer–it develops love in us that leads to a desire to get to know God.

Our fitting response to this is clearly put beginning in verse 19: we may have confidence to draw near to God with a sincere heart and with a full assurance of faith. This because we have been cleansed by his blood–we’ve been cleansed from guilt and our bodies have been washed.

The more I meditate on this passage the more courage I have to, in fact, enter God’s presence.

That’s all for now. What I have written is in regard to my own experience. I don’t know it all. This is just a little of what I’ve learned.