“Therefore I say unto you, ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.'” Mark 11:24
Where does the assurance, and conviction, come from to believe God, receiving from Him by faith that which is prayed for? In looking at the example of Elijah, whom James the Apostle uses as an example, we discover that he had the same needs as all believers, in that he was “…subject to like passions as we are.” (James 5:17) What does this mean? Even though Elijah was a great prophet of God, he was also a sinner. It is somewhat like Naaman the Syrian, a great man and soldier, very highly respected and honored, but he was a leper. Sin and leprosy are similar in that both are in essence diseases which mar and cripple, certainly hindering and limiting a person in his pursuit of God. So, Elijah, like all sinners, was subject to the presence and effects of sin, and yet, God answered his prayers. Why?
The first thing we note about Elijah is that he was a man of faith. This means that he staked all on God according to what the Lord told him to believe. His faith was demostrated, or proven, by his unswerving obedience to God, although he was a man with limitations and who made mistakes. That which pleases God, according to the Scriptures, is faith, trust, abandonment and commitment to God, of oneself, and all that God has entrusted to that person. Elijah was such a man, committed to God.
Secondly, Elijah was a “righteous man.” Does this mean that he was a perfect man? No, but it does mean that he was in the pursuit of that which was right in the eyes of God. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to,”Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Elijah was a man who was seeking the righteousness of God, that which was “right” in the sight of God, as opposed to that which was right in the sight of man. He was a man after God’s own heart, determined to know and do the will of God.
Thirdly, the motivation and commitment of Elijah expressed itself in “fervency,” an intensity and focus in prayer to God, for that which would please Him according to His will. In his pursuit of the right thing, his energy and efforts were directed to God alone, living in the expectation that God would answer a prayer where he prayed according to the will of God. The Apostle John would write of this same issue: “If we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1 John 5:14,15) Elijah, as well as John, were committed to praying according to the will of God. They were also determined, like Jacob of old, to not let God go until He answered according to His word and will. They believed, and thus, they received by faith.
In the life of Abraham, we find great similarities in prayer, specifically the prayer of faith. In his case, Abraham was called to believe a magnificent promise, that he would become, “the heir of the world,” and “…a father of many nations.” (Romans 4:13,17) The magnitude of the promise was truly beyond Abaham’s capacity to comprehend, much like the “unsearchable” judgments of God, and His ways which are past finding out. God, in the midst of man’s frailty, and limitations, works to bring all believers to specific faith in Himself for that which is prayed for, even though we may not understand the magnitude of His work. The certainty is this, that if God can find one who is committed to Him, and is fervent in his pursuit of the kingdom of God and righteousness, God will hear from heaven, and the believer will know the realtiy of prayer being effectively answered, the Father being well-pleased to honor faith.
Dear Father, Teach us to pray aright today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.