Praying with Faith in God’s Promises

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22).
So as long as I believe, does God give me all things in prayer? Yes, God wants His children to pray to Him: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble” (Psalm 50:15).
However, Scripture teaches that the things we ask for must be in accordance with God’s gracious will for us. As St. James wrote, “You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:3). God wants us to have His gifts, but always according to His will. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
In His Word, God explains that believers are to pray for all things. Prayer is not reserved for only special occasions, but on all occasions: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
So how do we ask the Holy God for His gifts? There is a story told about a country that was crowning its new king. The crowds had lined the streets to see the new king. A 12-year-old boy began pushing his way through the crowd. He was able to get as far as the guards and tried to pass them, too. But the guards stopped him and said, “You cannot get through here; don’t you know this man is the king?” The boy replied, “He may be the king, but he is also my dad!”
We can approach the Holy God, our heavenly Father, with the same confidence as the 12-year-old boy. Luther put it this way in the explanation of the Introduction of the Lord’s Prayer: “God would hereby tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him with all boldness and confidence, as children ask their dear father.”
Consider the prayer of the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable: “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). But in mercy and forgiveness, the father embraced and kissed him. In spite of our sinfulness and unworthiness, our heavenly Father is always ready to forgive us. Why? Jesus is the key.
Through Jesus Christ we are adopted children of God. He makes it possible for us to speak with God. He has removed the sin-barrier between us and God. As Jesus told His disciples when He taught them to pray, so also He tells us that because God is our loving Father we can always approach Him with confidence.
God our loving Father has invited us to come to Him in prayer, and we should pray because He commands us, “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). God promises to hear us: “For everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8). We constantly need His help: “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time” (Psalm 145:15). And we want to thank Him for His blessing: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1).
God speaks to us, His believing children, through His Word; He invites us to speak to Him in prayer. As His children, we should want to talk to Him regularly in prayer, for this is pleasing to God. We know that He hears our prayers and answers them.
We close with the words of “Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above”:
Amen! That is, so let it be!
Strengthen our faith and trust in Thee
That we may doubt not, but believe
That what we ask we shall receive.
Thus in Thy name and at Thy word
We say: “Amen. Now hear us, Lord.” (ELH 383:9)
John Merseth, Sr., is pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Weston, Ohio.