PRAYER IS THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH: Weekend Seed Thought

	Seed Thought for this Weekend Sent weekly to over 100,000 Christian families and growing. Prayer is the Language of Faith Talking and listening to God is the oldest form of communication. It is before any known language or means of conversing. We can even go back as far as Adam and Eve; for in the Garden of Eden we are taught that God walked with them in the cool of the day; a clear Scriptural image that God routinely walked and talked with the first couple.    It is also recorded in Scripture that the ancient people of faith prayed for forgiveness, reconciliation, spiritual comfort, physical health, and deliverance from brutal and fierce enemies. Jesus prayed more often than any living soul. He also taught his apostles and disciples to pray. And when He was taken up into heaven, they made prayer their highest calling. And through the centuries we have continue to mediate, speak, and listen to God.   Faith is in the heart. The language of the faith is prayer, either silent or vocal, which pleads and confers with God to take hold of the benefits of faith. In the Book of Mathew Jesus said ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. In this passage the asking, the seeking, and the finding are distinctive qualities of earnest and persistent prayer. We know there will always be insincere prayer that wants to be seen, or for some other unsuitable motive; yet we should also know that no one will earnestly ask, seek, or knock, without faith. And without faith no one will pray earnestly. So when we pray earnestly we should have confidence that we will be heard because of our faith; for God will teach us that earnest prayer is the language of faith.    It is true that God knows our needs before we pray. Yet prayer is also a way we receive more specific needs. God graciously provides for the people of faith along with all of the world’s citizenry; for we are taught in Scripture that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. This verse and others like it testify that many of God’s physical and natural provisions are given to all regardless of faith; yet the Scripture also teaches us from Genesis to Revelations that specific provisions are for people who have faith.    When an infant cries when hungry or tired or cold it is natural for a parent to provide what is lacking. So it is for all the living to receive fatherly care. Yet when children mature they become more specific with their requests in which a learned language will clearly communicate their needs. In this likeness prayer is the language of faith in which the people of faith clearly and earnestly bring their specific needs to God.    Prayer is a heavenly language that God has ordained and promised to hear. It is a language that is peculiar to some and doubtful to others, but for the people of faith they know if they seek God in earnest and for the right reasons, they will be heard; not because they deserve to receive anything from God; for it is only because they have enough faith to seek God for anything. And when all of their own remedies evaporate before their eyes they humble themselves and turn their eyes toward God knowing that all things are possible with Him.    In the gospels Jesus encourages us to have faith. For if we pray sincerely and without little doubt, we will receive whatever we ask; even the seemingly impossible in which Jesus told us metaphorically that prayer can cast mountains into the sea. And if for some reason beyond our understating that we suffer under the heaviness of our challenges and injuries without much relief or some delay, God will comfort us and by many proofs convince us that all things work together for good to those who love God.   Written by Joseph Hutchison Click to listen to our weekly podcast  New book of short Christian essays Seed Thoughts Sponsored by  Christian Counselor Directory