Faith and Prayer

By Carol Madison

I recently edited a book by a friend who has an amazing life story. Although I’ve known Mark for several years, I had no idea what a painful, destructive life he lived prior to becoming a follower of Christ.

I was especially intrigued with Mark’s account of the moment he gave his life to Jesus. In 1996, as a very broken man, he walked into the Promise Keepers event at the Minneapolis Metrodome, and he and his friends found seats near the top of the Dome. But a horrible reverb in the sound system prevented him from understanding anything the men on the platform were saying. And the worship music was just a loud commotion to him.

But when a man stepped to the microphone and began sharing the gospel, suddenly Mark understood every word perfectly. He bowed his head, and with tears streaming down his face, he gave his life to Jesus. That turning point transformed his life.

As I edited this part of Mark’s book, I was overwhelmed at God’s sovereignty. I wrote a note to my friend in the margin: “Mark, I was in the intercessor prayer room in the locker room during this event. The leaders came and told us how terrible the sound system was. They asked us to pray especially fervently that the men would still understand the gospel message. Then they let us sneak up and peek at all the men streaming forward to give their lives to Christ!”

The moment I read that section of Mark’s book, my faith soared. I realized—18 years later—that Mark was one of those men I was praying for! Unseen, in a locker room, we cried out to God on behalf of those who needed to surrender to Him. That night I had faith to believe that God could override a sound system—and He did!

Walking in Confidence

Scripture teaches that faith is the confidence that what we hope for in prayer will actually happen. Faith also means walking in assurance that God is always at work (Heb. 11:1).

That seems easy enough—until we come to a bridge that appears unsteady and we see turbulent waters below. We start to waver. Will God answer this time? Am I praying with enough faith? Do I even know how to pray? We hesitate to ask God for the impossible. Confidence and expectation slip away.

In this issue, Ron Auch examines double-talk in prayer—praying one way while thinking something else. If we believe God is all-powerful, we need to live out our theology. Pat Heston tackles what it means to pray in faith, with faith, and for faith. Each preposition presents a unique perspective, connecting faith with prayer. And John Robb, who has seen miraculous answers to prayer in Third World countries, questions why we don’t seem to see them in our Western world. He uses the faith of a child to help us understand the key to walking in faith when we pray.

As I experienced with Mark, sometimes God pulls back the veil and gives us a glimpse of the eternal impact of our prayers. Those moments remind us He is always inviting us to pray with confidence and expectation.

–CAROL MADISON is editor of Prayer Connect.