Many times prayer does not yield the desired results we yearn for. “Hope deferred make the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). Hope precedes all prayer, but only when the answer comes do we recognize the difference that Faith makes in praying. “But when the desire come, it is a Tree of Life” (13:12). Picture lightning. When God’s will makes contact with our hope, Faith is established and grace races down the lightning rod of experience. Faith is the way you use God’s grace. It’s our part to exercise the Faith God authors, but its God’s part to finish it.

1. The “Prayer of Faith” is prayer that ALWAYS GETS ANSWERED. If the “Prayer of Faith” is for the sick, “the LORD shall raise” the sick up. If the “Prayer of Faith” is Godly repentance, then sins “shall be forgiven”.

2. The reason that the “Prayer of Faith” always gets answered is because of the very nature of Faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). “Faith is… substance” and “evidence”. Faith can’t be held in the hand, or gazed upon with the eye, but Faith in God and His character is MORE real than anything your bodily senses can physically verify. Faith based in the Word of God is as realistic as “substance” and “evidence” gets. Nothing in this world is more real. Therefore, Faith always produces fruit and the “Prayer of Faith” always gets answered. Faith IS ALWAYS SUBSTANCE!

3. Since the “Prayer of Faith” is always answered, IT MUST ALWAYS BE ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL.

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o Colossians 4:12 “Always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

o Hebrews 10:36 “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the Promise.”

o Romans 8:27 “the Spirit… make  intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

4. Since the above points are absolutes, THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS to them. For the “Prayer of Faith” to be the “Prayer of Faith”, these elements must be present.

The “Prayer of Faith”:

1. ALWAYS GETS ANSWERED

2. IS ALWAYS SUBSTANCE

3. MUST ALWAYS BE ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

4. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS 

“And the Prayer of Faith shall save the sick, and the LORD shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him”
(James 5:15).

If you are anything like me (then you are totally weird) but beside that, I bet you have asked the same type of questions at times in your life. How do I get more belief? Or… I need more belief?

The remarkable answer to this question by Jesus was that we really don’t need much belief to see miraculous things. He said if you has faith the size of a grain of mustard seed you could move mountains and pluck up trees. So I pose the question to you then… How powerful is faith?

If just the tiniest portion of faith (the size of a tiny grain of mustard seed) can remove mountains then what could an entire fist full of faith accomplish? The next time you are in a Church gathering and your fellowship is praying for someone or something, think about the entire collective joined together as one massive powerful force of faith. If all just possessed a mustard seed of faith then combined your prayers can bring forth miracles.

I am also fascinated that Jesus continued in Luke 17:7 started talking about us putting servants to work for us. He was still talking in the context of faith. If we use his analogy then we can say that faith is our servant which we can put to work to bring forth what we need.

Here are some personalized Biblical affirmations about believing:

• I shall live by believing
• I will live by believing
• I am living by believing
• Hey I actually do live by believing
• I am justified by believing
• I have been made righteous by believing
• I have been made just by believing
• By believing I have access to the grace of God
• I am a child of God by believing in Christ Jesus
• Christ dwells in my heart by believing
• I have faith in God
• I am full of belief and power
• I have the belief to be healed
• My heart is purified by belief
• I will continue living in belief

Brethren as Jude said in verse 20 – But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “For ye are all the children of God by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST” (Galatians 3:26). The Bible is clear concerning this matter—All people are to believe upon Jesus Christ. The main purpose for which Christ came into the world was to save sinners, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be SAVED” (John 3:17). We are so blessed to have been made the object of God’s great love, “But God commendeth (demonstrated) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). What a wonderful God!

It is joyful to know that God loves us. God is not out to get us; rather, He wants to prepare for us a place in Heaven, that where He is we may be also (John 14:1-3). God is not willing for any to perish, but that all would come to repentance (2nd Peter 3:9). God wants us to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe on the Son is to believe on the Father because Jesus and the Father are One. There is NO condemnation to those who are resting upon Jesus Christ for salvation… “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). The only safe place to be is in the everlasting arms of Christ.

Those who do not believe on Christ are already condemned… “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). We MUST put our faith in Christ Jesus, there are NO other options. It’s Jesus or Hell. My friend, what will you do with Jesus? The Bible tells us why some people won’t come to Christ… “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were EVIL. For every one that doeth EVIL hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:19,20). We have no excuse if we miss Heaven. God has made salvation very simple and accessible to anyone. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Christ’s blood sacrifice. Salvation is receiving, not giving. All we need to do is acknowledge our guilt of sin before God, and put all our faith in Jesus Christ, that His blood will wash away our sins forever.

Thieves and Robbers Try to Sneak into Heaven Without Jesus

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by THE DOOR into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). God says you are “a thief and a robber” if you are trying to enter Heaven through a side door or an underground tunnel. You’re a thief because you’re illegally trying to make an entrance. Jesus paid for our sins because we CANNOT pay for our own sins. The ticket into Heaven has been paid for—all you have to do is accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Since you cannot pay for your own ticket into Heaven, you don’t have any other choice if you want to enter into Heaven’s pearly gates. It’s Jesus or Hell folks, I cannot stress this enough! John 10:9 says, “I AM THE DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Jesus is the Door into Heaven. Listen to John 11:25,26… “Jesus said unto her, I AM THE RESURRECTION, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Believest thou this? Do you believe the Words which Jesus spoke?

“Jesus saith unto him, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Mary CANNOT save you. The Pope CANNOT save you. The priest CANNOT forgive your sins. Only Jesus CAN save you and forgive your sins.

“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). What a wondrous Savior! Being saved is so simple—all we must do is believe—“Just enough”—to call upon the name of the Lord… “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be SAVED” (Romans 10:13). The word “call” means to believe. It does NOT means that you have to audibly sound your voice to be saved. Salvation is of the heart, not the mouth. The mouth can do nothing to save you. You must believe in your heart that Christ raised from the dead and trust upon Him alone for salvation. Do you believe Jesus arose after being crucified and buried? Some folks think Jesus is still dead. Let me tell you my friend, Christ is alive and well and lives within the heart of every Christian Believer. Let me encourage you again to put all your faith in Jesus Christ if you have never done so. Make that decision now.

By David J. Stewart

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38).

Few Scripture verses are quoted more often than Luke 6:38 regarding giving and receiving. Does it really mean what it seems to say? Does God promise to give to us abundantly? Do God’s promises depend on our giving first? What about those who have nothing to give? Does that mean that they will receive nothing from the Lord?

The promise by Jesus recorded in Luke 6:38 was not made exclusively to the rich, spiritual, gifted, or talented. It was a promise to anyone who would apply its principles. Although the promise does include prerequisites, they are not prerequisites that involve one’s spiritual maturity or social status. The prerequisites are ones of action: give first, then you will receive.

Giving types
Generally Christians are divided into five giving types or giving groups.

1. The first group gives either nothing or very little (far less than 10 percent of their incomes) to work being done in the Lord’s name. Most Christians belong to this group.
2. The second group gives at least 10 percent of their incomes regularly but seldom experiences what can be considered God’s abundant material supply or spiritual bounty.
3. The third group gives at least 10 percent of their incomes and can identify times when God has given to them both material and spiritual abundance.
4. The fourth group is small. This group gives far above 10 percent of their incomes but seldom identifies with God’s abundant material return.
5. The fifth group is even smaller. This group gives far above 10 percent of their incomes and identifies with God’s material and spiritual abundant return.

Those who give nothing or less than 10 percent of their income have, by their lack of giving, limited what God can do for them according to His Word. “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Paul the Apostle amplifies the same admonition. “Now I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). The lack of giving is an external indicator that there is something wrong spiritually.

Those who give more than 10 percent but not necessarily sacrificially and experience God’s abundant supply are meeting God’s prerequisites for where they are in their spiritual growth at that time. As they continue to grow and as God continues to teach them, the outward material abundance may change, as different lessons need to be learned.

Some of those who give far beyond 10 percent of their income and do not experience God’s abundance could be giving with the wrong motive. They may be trying to bribe God; they require and even demand God’s blessings because they gave, as they say, sacrificially. They are not in subjection to God but are trying to exercise control over Him. Others in this category, who give abundantly but receive little physical evidence of God’s return, may receive that return in other ways. These could include excellent health, a good and stable job, children and family who are committed to Christ, a car that seldom needs repairs, and so on.

Those who give abundantly and receive abundance in return from the Lord generally give because they desire to give, and although they may expect back from the Lord they do not demand it or become discouraged if they do not receive it in the manner or bounty they expected. Their giving is out of a desire to please God, not to profit from their relationship with Him. They are thankful when God gives back to them and show their thanks by giving back to God even more than they had given before the blessing. Yet, they are also thankful even if God gives them nothing materially in return and will continue to give abundantly. Many in this group go through periods of overflowing abundance from the Lord, as well as long periods of no abundant return. In either period, they continue to give because their desire is to give to the Lord’s work. If they receive an abundant return from the Lord, they feel that the return was given so that they can give more. If they do not receive an abundant return, they know that they are in the midst of a time of training and learning from the Lord for the next life stage that He has for them. As such, they usually conclude that their giving must not decrease but, rather, it should increase.

Conclusion
The spiritual principles behind Luke 6:38 are indeed giving and receiving, but we do not give to receive. The prerequisites to receiving are found in Luke 6:27-37. A Christian who lives by these principles practices the surrendered life. Therefore, the giving is simply a material expression of the deeper spiritual obedience to Christ. Nearly every Christian desires to be obedient to God, and in many ways most are. However, Christ warned us that one of the greatest threats to our walk with God is the appeal of the materialistic world. “The one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

This article is an adaptation of Larry Burkett’s Biblical Principles Under Scrutiny article entitled “Give and it will be Given to You,” published by Christian Financial Concepts, 1985.

Do you feel like you are striving for something but it just seems
to elude you?

Maybe you are a little discouraged and confused about what God
wants for you. Do you wonder if God has a plan for your life? And
if He does, why does it remain unfulfilled?

There may be a multitude of thoughts running through your mind as
you continue day in and day out, repeating the same mundane tasks
over and over again, wondering if things will ever change.

You may be frustrated and wondering what your purpose is. Jesus
said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes,” (Mark 9:23) and He also said, “According to your
faith, be it done unto you” (Matt 9:29).

We must believe without a doubt that we will have good
things in life, that we will be guided to the right situations at
the right times, and that we really will see our dreams
manifested. We will, if we believe because our faith can move
mountains!

God has a wonderful plan for each of His children according to
his or her own unique gifts and abilities (Jeremiah 29:11).
Therefore, we must trust that God is working all things for our
benefit according to His plan (Romans 8:28). It really is just a
matter of faith.

The Bible says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6).

I love the part where it says, “Believe that He is.” Believe that
He is what? Our Heavenly Father and God Almighty! The author of
the entire universe. The greatest force that has ever existed.
And, He knows right where you are. Every hair on your head is
numbered (Luke 12:7). If you don’t have any hair, don’t worry,
your fuzz is probably numbered.

Living the abundant and prosperous Christian life is really just
a matter of getting out of God’s way. Quit trying to always
figure things out. Turn off the reasoning and let Him do His work
in you, through you, and for you, making you perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.

Psalms 18:29 says, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my
God I can scale any wall” (NLT).

Decide to have faith in any given situation. Believe everything will
work out fine no matter what things may look like. As Christians,
we live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). After all, God is the final
authority in any given situation and He knows exactly what He
wants to do in your life.