“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”( Matthew 21:22)

Many of us divorce prayer from its source of power. If we see prayer as an activity to perform and check off our list of spiritual deeds for the day, we miss the heart, substance, and opportunity it offers. Jesus reminds us that prayer is connecting with God of the universe, the One who spoke the stars into existence and the One who orchestrates all of history. His power is matchless and His love without limits.

Jesus Christ promises that we will receive anything we ask for comes with a condition. We must believe. A torrent of words even eloquent or flowery ones doesn’t please God and intense emotions don’t necessarily move His hand. But faith even small, fledgling faith in God makes Him smile and connects us to His heart and His purposes.

Believing prayer is characterized by a genuine commitment to God’s desires. We long for God to be honored, not us. We want Him to touch lives not for us to be in control. To know what God wants, we search the Scriptures to find out what’s on His heart and how He wants to work in people’s lives, and we listen to the Spirits whisper as we sit silently with open hearts.

Prayer never demands that God act a certain way. Believing prayer acknowledges our inadequacies and limitations and focuses on God’s greatness and goodness to direct both prayer and His answer.