The devil Ain't the ONLY Liar

Here’s where the rubber meets the road: Another congregant in the Church I served the Lord as interim pastor once questioned my position on faith by asking me how we can possibly exercise faith (calling things that are not as though they are as well as calling things that are as though they are not) without knowing the Lords will in the situation. She asked how do we do this without “behaving like the “name it and claim it people.” The answer to this question is in the definition of faith as it very clearly says in Hebrews 11:1. This being said we do not see anywhere in Scripture that tells us we are required to know the Lord’s will when exercising faith in our petitions before Him, but rather we are only required as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to simply pray and have faith. We will always know the Lord's will by the outcome of our situation, and we do not have to know it in advance of praying.
As far as the name it and claim it people are concerned, it is the motivation behind their asking in addition to the very things they are asking for that makes them the heretics they are. The pastor preaches a conditional blessing (give and get back 100 fold) prosperity message to those who have very little in the hopes of them giving what little they do have to the Church. It’s really not much different from poor and economically desperate people buying Lottery tickets whenever they may find a dollar in their pocket.

The Biblical example that is often misunderstood, and used as an argument in favor of continually asking the Lord in prayer for something until an answer is received comes to us in Luke 18:1-8 known as the parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge. The passage reads as follows:

1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”” (niv)

Verse one says that Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up However; there is a difference between maintaining faith throughout our prayers in a constant attitude of prayer, and being persistent by asking the Lord for specific things over and over again. In other words this is an admonishment that we should never give up on prayer itself (pray without ceasing) or to stop having faith for certain things the way I did during my 10 day escapade of lamenting before the Lord with seemingly no real hope of a healing in sight for those first 10 days.

In verse three of the NIV it says the widow asked the judge to grant her justice, but in the King James Version the word is “avenge.” The Original Greek word used for avenge means to vindicate, retaliate, or to punish.

In Deuteronomy 32:35 it says "Vengeance is mine thus sayeth the Lord" (kjv) so we know that neither the Widow nor the unjust Judge were believers, or positive role models for the believer. The Widow wasn’t because of her desire for vengeance, and the unjust Judge wasn’t because of his lack of love and respect for the Lord as well as his fellow Man. The characters in this parable are definitely not examples of Godly people of whom we should model after.

I don’t suppose you ever wonder sometimes why your prayers don't seem to be answered. The key that unlocks the hidden truth to that in this parable is in the last part of the last verse which says: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (niv) Brothers and sisters, the Lord is just looking for faith on the Earth! We don't always have to know the Lord's will when asking for things because (as I said before) we will always know his will by the outcome. Faith is the evidence of things not seen rather than knowing the will of God when we pray. If we always know the will of God in certain situations or things we are praying for then there really is no need for faith, because we already know His will so we also know full well that it will come to pass in His perfect time anyway. In and of itself when you stop and think about it is actually an expression of faith as well.

I don’t usually ask very much for myself. I spend a lot of time in prayer each day, and it is mostly for the needs as well as the blessings of others. When I do present a specific request before the Lord for myself, a family member, or others I will usually ask three consecutive times, because the number three represents completion so I no longer have to ask after the third time. Then after the third day I exercise pure and raw faith as I thank the Lord and praise him for doing it (for the following four days) for a total of seven days since the number seven also represents completion. With the understanding that the Lord always answers all of our prayers with a yes, a no, or a wait answer I then simply wait for the resolute yes or no answer to come asking God for his final resolution to come very soon. This is a very effective method for prayer backed by faith. I apply this methodology in my specific prayer requests as well as the ones that come to me from other people.