This Element Will Make or Break your Prayers

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1)

Have you ever tried to make bread without yeast? It will not rise. That’s how prayer is without faith. The Bible says, “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). When you come to God, if you do not sincerely believe that God wants to help you, your prayer is going to fall flat, just like bread without yeast.

Take a look at just how powerful Jesus said faith is. “A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched Me, for I felt healing power go out from Me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of Him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Did you hear what Jesus said? He said her faith made her well. Imagine you had a house filled with beautiful belongings. All those things are yours, but you can only get in with a key. God has amazing things in store for you, and your faith is the key to access them. Jesus said, “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

So how do you get faith? Jesus’ followers asked the same thing. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Show us how to increase our faith.’ The Lord answered, ‘If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!’” (Luke 17:5,6). Imagine how small a mustard seed is. I think Jesus is trying to tell you: Even if you just have a little, use the faith you’ve got, and it can do great things. Your faith is like a muscle: the more you use it, the bigger it grows. You just have to start somewhere.