The power of prayer is very powerful! James 5:16-18 says that 'the prayer of a righteous person is power and effective.'

God is moved by our prayers, our words and acknowledge to him, his ears are attentive to our prayers (1 Peter 3:12).

When we take the time out to let God in and earnestly speak to him, he hears and answers us.

He also acts in response to our prayers. God gives generously to us when we seek him. He tells us that whatever we ask will be given to us (Matthew 7:7). So we should let all our requests be made known to Go. And when we do, God also provides us with peace (Philippians 4:6-7).

But faith also plays a large part in prayer. When we ask God for anything, we must ask in faith, believe and not doubt (James 1:6)

We must also believe that we have received whatever we have asked for, and it will be ours (Mark 11:24)

It's all in our mind-set, our faith, trust and total belief in the work of God.

It all requires faith. Faith must also be accompanied by action, because faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

When people have applied an attitude of faith into their prayers and requests, they have never been disappointed.

When Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter, he was crushed by cynicals, telling him to not bother because he daughter was dead. But he chose to keep up his faith. Jesus told them, 'Don't be afraid, just believe' (Mark 5:36). Because of Jairus's faith, his request was answered and his daughter was raised from the dead.

Elijah prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't rain for 3 and a half years! (James 5:17)

Because of faith, Elisha's prophets managed to get back their borrowed axe head which fell into the water (2 Kings 6:1-7).

It may have been seen as something small, but because they asked to get it back with faith, they were not disappointed.

No matter how big or small our requests are, we must make it all known to God and have faith that He will answer us.

God is not like a wishing well, where we make requests and wish for what we want and cross our fingers, hoping that whatever we asked for will come true. There is no magic trick to it. When we ask for anything in God's name, He will do it (John 14:13-14).

God is faithful and has called us into fellowship with him (1 Corinthians 1:9)

When God called us his friends (John 15:14), he created a firm partnership with us, so that we can work with him and receive blessings and rewards for our faithfulness. This is why we can receive whatever we ask from God, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing to him (1 John 3:22).

God hears our calls, our thoughts and our prayers. He will never ignore us.

If things seem silent, it is because God is working behind the scenes. He is preparing the answers and solutions to our prayers and requests.

It can take time, which is why we must have patience. We have to wait on God's timing, not our timing. Gods way and timing is always the best.

We need to have total faith and trust in God. Patience is the bridge which holds up our faith. When our patience drops, so does our faith. And we need our faith to be strong and active in order to receive from God.

We must continue to make our requests known to God, and then be still and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7), while in that time, always glorifying him and keeping up our faith and belief that we will receive whatever we asked for.

Esther ♥