THE PRAYER OF FAITH
The Prayer Of Faith is different to other types of prayer. It is confident of God’s will and is spoken with authority.
The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:5 ESV
To a casual observer, a Swiss Army Knife may look like an average pocket knife. Except it isn't. The Swiss Army Knife has many different blades and tools built into the one ‘knife'. Each tool has different applications and different ways they need to be used.
Prayer is much the same. There are different types of prayer for different needs and circumstances. There are prayers of consecration, prayers of worship, praying in the Spirit- and there is The Prayer of Faith.
The Prayer Of Faith has some unique characteristics. Firstly, to pray a prayer of faith you must know the will of God. You can't pray in confidence if you don't know God's will. We must find God's promises that cover our situation and become fully convinced of them before we pray the prayer of faith.
The word 'prayer' can also mean a vow- something declared as a certainty. The prayer of faith may be a command, or vow, spoken in faith.
In James 5:15, the Bible talks about 'the prayer of faith' and gives Elijah' praying for rain' as an example. If you read the story of Elijah (1 Kings 17-18), he didn't pray, in the sense of praying to God. Elijah prayed the prayer of faith- in the form of a command. Elijah knew what the will of God was and spoke it out.
Some things for which people ask, have already been given to them. It's not faith to ask God for something He's already given you. For example, if God has given you the authority to do something- why are you asking Him to do it!
Jesus never asked his Heavenly Father to heal anyone. Jesus had the authority to heal the sick, so he prayed a command of faith over people and healed them. Likewise, Jesus gave us the power to heal the sick (Matt 10: 5-8), but he never told us to pray for the sick!
The Prayer of Faith can also be a request, or a petition, made of God when we know God's will on the matter.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 ESV
The Bible could have said, 'you might receive it', 'all in God's timing', or even 'God might say yes, he might say no, or he might say wait'. But it didn't! It says 'we know that we have the requests'.
To be a prayer of faith, you must know that it is God's will and believe that you have received it.
