The Prayer of Faith

And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick…James 5:15

In this season of life I am praying for three women who are battling late stage cancer. One of whom I attended bible study with for several years. We are both wives, mothers and grandmothers. Our husbands have shared a mutual love for motorcycles and all things “man stuff.” My friend and her husband were a tremendous support to Steve and I when we started Core church fifteen years ago. Over the last couple of weeks I have pondered this woman’s life and testimony. She is truly a godly woman! I have witnessed her dedication to her home and family with a gentle strength. What volumes and effect she has had on the lives of others only Jesus knows. But my life has been one of them.

God’s word commands us to pray in faith. Prayer for the lost, prayer for the prodigal, prayer for the hurting and so much more. Being anxious for nothing, but praying for everything with supplication and thanksgiving (Phil 4:6). Matt 21:22 tells us, “And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive.” For many this is the golden ticket! Healing is claimed and demanded on the basis of a faith that must rule out any other possibility than what is asked for.

I have no desire to write a commentary or arguement on the topic of healing. There are thousands of commentators and commentaries on the subject. What I do know is that I must take the whole bible as the rock on which I stand. I must look at God’s character and His dealings with humanity since the dawn of creation. I need His infinite and incomparable wisdom from Genesis to Revelation. When life is complex I have to go back to the One Who commanded the existence of the universe in perfect order.

How do I make sense of the prayer of faith? It’s not a matter of whether God is able to do anything. The other morning I witnessed the most magnificent sunrise. Isn’t that enough to settle God’s ability over everything? I say, yes! But I also can’t help but remember the words echoed in a garden. “Not my will, but yours be done” Luke 22:42. What a moment of profound struggle and submission! Jesus acknowledges His own human desire to avoid suffering. But ultimately He chooses to submit to the will of God. 

Jesus ultimate trust and surrender to a higher plan, even in the face of pain and difficulty has much to teach me. Pray? Yes! Pray believing? Absolutely! But I will pray with faith that trusts the outcome to my faithful God. He who never get’s it wrong and who is accomplishing His will on a grander scale than just the here and now.

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