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by A.W. Tozer
“Men may, and often do, pray without faith (though this is not true prayer), but it is not thinkable that men should have faith and not pray. The biblical formula is The prayer of faith. Prayer and faith are here bound together by the little preposition of, and what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Faith is only genuine as it eventuates into prayer. When Tennyson wrote More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of, he probably uttered a truth of vaster significance than even he understood. While it is not always possible to trace an act of God to its prayer-cause, it is yet safe to say that prayer is back of everything that God does for the sons of men here upon earth. One would gather as much from a simple reading of the Scriptures. What profit is there in prayer? Much every way. Whatever God can do faith can do, and whatever faith can do prayer can do when it is offered in faith. An invitation to prayer is, therefore, an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs. Nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God. This generation has yet to prove all that prayer can do for believing men and women.”
by George Mueller
The precious Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. Oh, let us seek to realize this! It is not merely a religious phrase or statement, but truly He is our friend. He is the Brother ” born for adversity,” the one who “sticks closer than a brother.” Who will never leave and never forsake us.
How precious even on earth to have a heavenly friend, for this brings the joys of heaven in a little degree into our hearts now. This is just what our heavenly Father desires regarding His children, that they might be as happy as they are capable of being while here in the body. Have we entered into this, that the One who is “altogether lovely” is ready hour by hour, to be our Friend?
When we cannot sleep at night, say to Christ, ” My precious heavenly Friend, wilt Thou give me a little sleep?” When in pain, say, ” My precious heavenly Friend, if it may please Thee, wilt Thou take away this pain? But if not, if Thou sees better that it should continue, sustain, help, and strengthen me, my precious heavenly friend!” When we feel lonely and tired, turn to the precious Lord Jesus; He is willing to be our friend in our loneliness. For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to my precious Lord Jesus as I walk up and down in my room, and say, ” My precious Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone, Thou art with me; Thou art my friend; now Lord, comfort me and strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou sees he needs.”
Oh, this is a reality, not a fable, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our friend. We should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experientially to be our friend and habitually to be our friend. Just ponder this. Habitually, never leaving, never forsaking us, at all times and under all circumstances ready to prove Himself to be our friend.
He is willing not merely to grant this for a few months, or a year or two, but to the very end of our earthly pilgrimage. David, in Psalm 23 says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Oh, how precious this is. For this “Lovely One” is coming again, and soon. Soon He will come again; and then He will take us home and there we shall be forever with Him. Oh, how precious is that bright and glorious prospect. Here again the practical point is to appropriate this to ourselves. “He is coming to take me-poor, guilty, worthless, hell-deserving me-He is coming to take me to Himself.” And to the degree in which we enter into these glorious things, the joys of heaven have already commenced!
1. Open Bible Before Him, and His Finger Upon That Promise, He would Plead That Promise, and So He Received What He Asked
One of the mightiest men of prayer of the last generation was George Mueller of Bristol, England, who in the last sixty years of his life (he lived to be ninety-two or ninety-three) obtained the English equivalent of $7,200,000.00 by prayer. But George Mueller never prayed for a thing just because he wanted it, or even just because he felt it was greatly needed for God’s work. When it was laid upon George Mueller’s heart to pray for anything, he would search the Scriptures to find if there was some promise that covered the case. Sometimes he would search the scriptures for days before he presented his petition to God. And then when he found the promise, with his open Bible before him, and his finger upon that promise, he would plead that promise, and so he received what he asked. He always prayed with an open Bible before him. – R. A. Torrey on George Mueller; “The Power of Prayer,” 1924 (P. 81)
2. Mueller’s Discovery Was That After Meditating On Scripture He Was More Able to Experience a Meaningful Prayer time
“Reading without meditation is unfruitful; meditation without reading is hurtful; to meditate and to read without prayer upon both is without blessing.” – William Bridge, Puritan Writer
Christian meditation (thinking deeply on Scripture) is “the missing link between Bible intake and prayer.” If there was a “secret” to George Mueller’s prayer life, it was his discovery of the connection between meditation and prayer. Mueller’s discovery was that after meditating on Scripture he was more able to experience a meaningful prayer time. – Donald S. Whitney, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” (partial quote and partial paraphrase).
by A. B. Simpson
True faith drops its letter in the post office box and lets it go. Distrust holds onto a corner of it and wonders why the answer never comes. In my desk are some letters that I wrote weeks ago. But there was some slight uncertainty about the address or the contents so they are yet unmailed. As yet they have not done me or anyone else any good. They will never accomplish anything until I let them go out of my hands and trust them to the postal system. This is the case with true faith. it hands its case over to God and then He works. There is an appropriate verse in Psalm 37:5 – Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he [worketh]. But He never works until we commit. Faith is a receiving-or still better-a taking of God’s proffered gifts. We may believe and come and commit and rest, but we will not fully realize all our blessing until we begin to receive and come into the attitude of abiding and taking.
Faith is not a formula. Yes, there are principals in the Bible concerning the growth and operation of faith. The Bible is full of principals of all kind. But God is not an impersonal force. He is a person. At the end of the day, when your back is up against the wall and you need God to move on your behalf, it comes down to just Him and you. You must have a personal faith in a Personal God. And this personal faith is based on a personal word from this Personal God, usually pertaining to a deeply personal need or desire.
However, the more you understand and obey God’s principals, the better your relationship with Him. And the better your relationship, the more He will speak to you, and the more you will be able to hear. At the end of that proverbial long dark day – it boils down to Him, you, and your relationship to Him. Nothing else matters. Your relationship to Him is shaped by by how to respond to the principals found in the word of God. You living in Him, and Him living in and through you – through the word in you. His word is what binds us together. Faith is finding unity with God on a certain issue. As they say, “This one is personal.”
Personal faith is based on a personal word from a Personal God, usually pertaining to a deeply personal need or desire.
 Last month we reached the 50,000th page view mark, and as you can see we are gaining speed. HopeFaithPrayer blog was started in November of 2008. It has taken over 18 months to reach this level, but at our current rate we will pass the second 50,000 mark in only four months. Last month alone we received over 8,200 page views, and we are growing each week.
Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:15, 16
These may not be huge numbers but they are greatly appreciated by us. God’s word is going out little by little, and every little bit can help someone a whole lot. We are growing.
With God, we have the best product in the world, and with the Gospel, we have the best brand in the world. The only thing that hinders its spread is how we present it. The better the preparation and the better the presentation the better it is received. Thank you for coming.
God’s word is going out little by little, and every little bit can help someone a whole lot.
 Finding God – but how can God be lost? He is not lost but merely hidden. God tells us that He has gone ‘for a while’ to a ‘far place.’ Where this place is we do not know, and He does not directly tell us. But He does leave us a trail to this Kingdom hidden in His Word. There are clues hidden throughout His word, that if studied and closely followed, will lead to Him. Breadcrumbs if you will, along a trail that leads to the very throne room of God. This trail of the word of God is called Jesus, for He is the ‘Way’ to God. If we are obedient to follow the Way of His Son, led by His Holy Spirit, we will find Him, and we will be reunited.
This trail is obvious to all those who are earnestly seeking, and is utterly hidden to those who are not. He reveals Himself only to those to whom He chooses. He reveals Himself through His word. His word is both Him and the path to Him. Every step we take along this path changes us a little closer into His image. The narrow road to God is the correct path of life, it is the only one which leads to Him.
Like the father of the prodigal son, God the Father is standing a far off waiting for us. He will run to us, put a ring on our finger, and order that the fatted calf be slain. There will be great joy in the Kingdom, because in finding Him we would also be found. The Bible says that at that time ‘we will know Him, even as we are known.’
The Bible also says that very soon He will return from this far journey to receive His Kingdom here on earth. At that time, He will no longer be hidden but the whole world will see Him in His full Glory. Let us find Him before He returns, and finds us idle and disobedient. Also read, The Vast Universe – Two Perspectives
 As Christians, we are located in the ‘secret place of the Most High’ (Psalm 91:1). As such, we are protected from the coming world judgment. That does not mean that we are to sit back and wait for the end. It means that we are to work for the end. There are plenty of onboard activities to get involved in. Don’t be like most individuals and spend your time continually feasting on God’s word (I am speaking to myself). Get out and do something.
Get out of the boat for some fun day excursions. Meet the local people, interact, and tell them how nice it is traveling with God. Some you will be able to bring back to the boat, others will decline the offer. That’s OK. It is only our responsibility to ask. God convicts, they choose, and we go on.
There may be some rough waters toward the latter end of the cruise but that’s also OK, the ship can take it. So get ready and get busy. Who knows, we might even get a great photo package when we get to our final destination.
The power of God is real, and believing makes the power of God a reality to us. It makes His reality real to us. He is all around us. His power is present every moment of every day. His reality is real – His power is real – whether we sense it or not. What a waste it is when we cannot take advantage of it.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 King James Version and New King James Version
“Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Faith is the reality of God’s promises. Faith is the noun form and believe is the verb form of the same Greek word, so believing is faith in action. Believing then is the process by which we receive His reality into our lives. Believing is our receiving the substance and reality of our hopes, and then providing the corresponding actions consistent with those hopes. Believing is accepting and choosing to act solely based on His reality, instead of responding to the factual but false reality around us. It is not denying this world’s reality, but rather choosing to count faith’s reality as more real. One is subject to change, the other is eternal.
“…as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (English Standard Version)
It is how we receive ‘His Kingdom come and His will be done’ into our sphere of life. It is the process that brings His world into our world. Faith is God’s reality and believing is putting action to that reality. The ownership of that reality is imparted to our hearts when the Word of that reality comes alive in our hearts. Let the Holy Spirit speak this reality to your heart. When that happens, the Word on the page becomes the Word in the heart. Real Bible believing is of the heart and not of the mind.
Respond to the reality represented in God’s Word, instead of responding to the factual but false reality around us.
Calvin’s well-known definition of faith:
‘Now we can agree on the right definition of faith if we say that it is firm and certain knowledge of the divine good will toward us, based on the truth of the free promise in Christ, and both revealed to our minds and sealed on our hearts through the Holy Spirit.’
Faith, the Bible tells us, is a matter of the heart, and not just of the brain. Perhaps the initial moment of faith can best be termed in English as a revelation. Faith is a personal revelation from the Holy Spirit to our heart, revealing the divine good will of God on a particular issue or thing. Faith then truly does come by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Faith is heart knowledge concerning the will of God, based on the potential of the promises of God, as revealed by the Holy Spirit.
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