The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). God’s greatest desire is to be believed. You can pray regularly and ritually, and even feel closer to God as a result, but still not really expect Him to answer your prayers or expect your situation to change. Peter had been put in prison and sentenced to death, and his execution was scheduled for the next day. So, the church prayed all night for his release. And it happened miraculously. God put the guards to sleep, opened Peter’s prison door, and set him free. Yet when he appeared on the doorstep of the house where the believers were praying, they couldn’t believe it: ‘A servant girl…told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel”’ (Acts 12:13-15 NLT). Even the early disciples struggled to believe God would hear them. Even when the answer knocked on their door, they still hesitated. And we do too, don’t we? We struggle with prayer. We forget to pray, and when we remember, we might rush through our prayers with hurried, meaningless words. Our thoughts disperse like a startled group of starlings. Why does this happen, when we know we can pray anywhere, at any time, using your own words, and God will answer? What’s the problem? We need to realise the incredible power and potential that just one praying believer has: ‘Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 NCV). So don’t just pray; believe God for the answer. Then speak and live like you believe!
