If you diligently practiced what were suggested in the last issue (How To Increase Your Faith), your faith should obviously be increasing daily. You’ve probably asked; what do I do with this great faith? And the simplest answer is: Apply it to receive answers to your prayers. In just three steps, you can apply your great faith to believe God persuasively, release that believe into God during prayers, and receive answers to your prayers much faster. If you can master the art of releasing your faith during prayers, you’ll notice an increase in answered prayers in your life, and will likely see a miracle pop up every now and then. The following suggestions can help us learn how to do so.
1. Come To God Believing
The scriptures declare: “He who comes to God must believe that He Is, and that He is a Rewarding of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6) The first portion of this scripture: “He who comes to God must believe that He Is” gives us a good starting point in learning the application of faith. We begin by coming to God as in prayers: We come singing, praising and giving thanks to Him so that we can enter into His presence(Psalms 100). Upon entering His presence, we begin to worship Him, and believe in Him: that He exists, and is real, and that He is the all powerful, all knowing, and all mighty God who is the source of all existence. As such, He is the only One who has power to grant our prayer requests. As we continue to worship Him, we deepen our belief to enable us become fully persuaded that He will reward us according to His promise in the second part of this scripture: “He is a Rewarding of those who diligently seek Him.”
2. Confess And Release Your Faith While Praying
At this level of full persuasion, we notice that the presence of God that we feel remains constant, we feel strengthened, peaceful and bold. At this time, we release our faith into God by confessing our requests to Him. This confession is simply our prayer request to God, expressed in a way that reflects our persuasion that God is able and willing to grant our request. We do not prepare what to say. Rather, our mouth simply speaks as it is being driven by the persuasive force of the faith that has filled our heart; just as the scriptures declare that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34). Indeed, the more persuaded our heart is, the more convincing and powerful our confession is.
As an example, a Roman centurion heard about Jesus and became 100% persuaded that He has the power and the authority to heal his dying servant who was at home (Matt 8:5-11). So He came to Jesus and asked Him to heal the servant. When Jesus agreed to go with him, He made a powerful confession that acknowledged that Jesus has full power and authority over diseases and, therefore can heal a sick person at will. This how He said it. “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed” (read more in your bible). Jesus marveled at such a great confession of faith coming from an unsaved person, and spoke the word that healed the servant.
Another example is a non-Jewish woman who came to Jesus with a belief that obviously was not fully persuasive. Without spending time to worship Him so her faith can rise further, she immediately asked Jesus to heal her daughter; making a confession that did not reflect the great faith in her. Following Jewish traditions, Jesus ignored her, for He came to minister to only Jews, not Gentiles. But this woman was diligent in seeking the Lord, so she came and worshiped Him, which of course had the potential to deepen her believe in Jesus. However, she made a weak confession again (“Lord help me”), by asking Jesus for healing again before her believe was fully persuasive. As a result, Jesus rejected her request again; responding with words that most of us would regard as offensive. But instead of feeling offended, she turned around and did something marvelously faithful: She drew nearer and worshiped Him again, and finally, she made a confession reflecting the great depth of faith and persuasion that had built up in her heart. This time, Jesus marveled at such a great confession of faith, and spoke the word that healed her daughter.
3. Believe That You Are Receiving What You’re Asking For
When Jesus thought His disciple how to apply their faith, He said to them: “whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:23-24). What this means is that whatever you asked for while confessing your faith, you must believe that you’re receiving them or have received them while you are still praying. The truth is that God has granted your prayers in the spirit realm, and it shall surely manifest for you in the natural realm at the right time if you believe it (see “Waiting For God To Answer”). I pray that these three tips shall help you harness your faith and extract more power for your daily power-living.
Remain blessed.