"Have the Faith of God: When You Pray!" Parts 3 to 3-1a-3 July 20, 2014

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

III. What Does It Mean to “Have the Faith of God?”- Section III – Part 3

When we go to God with a crisis, issue, or whatever, we are to do so according to Mark 11:24 which is another Scripture that is taken out of context – twisted and used for the person’s own selfish gain. I thank God for giving us His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to know the truth of His Word and not take it out of context! This is what Jesus said in verse  22 of Mark 11: “And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Have the faith of God” (biblegateway.com – 1599 Geneva Bible). According to the Footnotes in the 1599 Geneva Bible for verse 22, “Have the faith of God” here mean “The faith of God is that assured faith and trust which we have in him.”

 

Let’s look at verse 23 of Mark 11:

“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken away, and cast into the sea, and shall not waver in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith, shall come to pass, whatsoever he saith, shall be done to him” (biblegateway.com-1599 Geneva Bible).

Jesus is saying in verse 23 that when we have the faith of God or God’s faith, we can move mountains! All we have to do is ask in prayer, believing with God’s faith! Praying in Jesus’ name mean God’s will be done; God will get the glory out of our lives when we allow His will to be done in it. Remember, God’s faith is tied to His will so we are agreeing with whatever God’s will is for our situation.

 

A.   What to Do When We Have a Need? (Mark 11:22-24) – Part 3-1: Here is what we should do when we have an issue of any kind:

 

1. Pray – Part 3-1a: Petition God concerning the matter at hand. There are different kinds of prayers (adoration, supplication, thanksgiving, etc.) also prayer can be an object of worship – definitions.net meaning of prayer but in this teaching, I am talking about petition prayers.

 

a.    Definition of the word “Pray” – Part 3-1a-1: According to dictionary.com, the word “Pray” means:

i. To offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc. to God or you can worship God through prayer as David did in the Psalms.

ii.  To offer (a prayer).

iii. To ask earnestly a question; entreat.

Definition “iii” is the main key to praying (asking God a question earnestly).

Definition “i and ii” gives us another definition of “pray” which is “to offer” – you might say “Offer what?”- offer your petition to God.

  

When you petition God, you are conveying your heart to God; although you petition Him for something you want, you would rather have His perfect will to be done in that situation. We cannot pray correctly until we know what prayer really mean.

 

b.   NIV Dictionary’s Definition of the word “Prayer” – Part 3-1a-2: As God gave me different words to look up, I found this definition for the word “Prayer” in the NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible by J.D. Douglas & Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Publishing House, ©1989.

According to the NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible, the word “Prayer” means: “The spiritual response (spoken and unspoken) to God. Prayer covers a wide spectrum of addressing and hearing God, interceding with and waiting for the Lord, and contemplating and petitioning our Father in heaven.”

Let me stop here a minute and further explain “the spiritual response to God” from the NIV Dictionary’s definition of the word “Prayer.” This mean prayer is our response to God who is already speaking or better yet, revealing Himself to us. Remember, the Holy Spirit imparts the faith of God to us – tells us what God is saying about our issue. Therefore, prayer is not merely an exchange of words, but it engages the whole person in a relationship with God the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. In essence, prayer raises one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God (His good, perfect, and acceptable will); Reference: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers/what-is-  prayer.cfm.

c.  When Jesus Prayed – Part 3-1a-3: The NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible says there are 17 references to Jesus praying; they divided them into four grouping of when He prayed:

i.  Prayers – Jesus prayed at critical moments in His life. Some examples are, His baptism (Luke 3:21); before the cross in the Gethsemane (Luke  22:39-40); on the cross (Luke 23:46); and when Jesus chose the disciples (Luke 6:12-13).

ii.  Prayers During His Ministry – Jesus prayed before the conflict with the Jewish leaders (Luke 5:16); before the “Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:1); after feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:36-46).

iii. Prayers at His Miracles – healing the multitudes (Luke 1:35); before feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:36-46); healing a deaf-mute (Mark 7:34); raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41).

iv. Prayers for Others – Jesus prayed for the disciples (the Eleven – John  17:6-19); Jesus prayed for the whole church (John 17:20-26); Jesus prayed for those who nailed Him on the cross (Luke 23:34); Jesus prayed for Peter (Luke 22:32).

These prayers of Jesus show He had a rich prayer life; these are not the only time Jesus prayed (Hebrews 5:5-7).

 

God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

Click here to read copyright information

NOTE: These materials are copyright protected therefore you must request permission to reproduce any part of this material. To request permission, please contact Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks: [e-mail].