Belief + Faith
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
— Matthew 21:22 KJVI read twenty versions of this particular Scripture one day. Initially, it’s easy to make “Ask. Believe. Receive” as the faith formula we take away. That’s not exactly what this verse teaches. It’s really “Believe. Ask. Receive.”
Indeed, prayer is the pathway to the heart of God. When there’s a lot to hope for or when things are not going the way we’d like, we become skilled at asking. But the real test is in the believing. If prayer is the pathway, BELIEF is what enables our petition to pass through. Let that soak in for a moment. We’ve been taught to “ask and then it shall be given.” We’ve been told to “name it and claim it.” And we’ve been taught that “you have not because you ask not.” But this passage makes clear that our prayers must be bathed in belief first. Belief is an activator. Know that God hears the prayers of those who believe what they are praying for.
Pray
Dear Lord,
Remove from me the spirits of fear, disbelief, hesitation, worry, and doubt. These voices don’t come from You and therefore don’t belong to me. Give me a spirit of crazy faith and the ability to trust in You no matter what I see.
Amen.
Attribution: Excerpt from “100 Days of Believing Bigger” by Marshawn Evans Daniels