Lack of faith hinders prayers
Heb 11:6 'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.'
When we pray we must believe and not doubt.
The one who prays and doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind, according to James 1:6.
There are five things that keep you from exercising faith fully, better known as the five enemies of faith.
1. Fear
Fear is a snare. This means that you will be entrapped and kept from moving forward or achieving something.
- Fear keeps you from facing battles.
- Fear is also a prison.
- Fear will make you lose focus.
- Fear is an obstacle.
Doubt
Doubt is driven in by a sense of failure, fear and loneliness. The only way out is to simply not doubt the plans and the power of God.
Worry
The Word clearly states that we should not be worried about anything. Instead, we ought to pray about everything. Phil 4: 6-7
Worry comes from imagined or real concerns that make you feel anxious or uneasy about something.
Unbelief
Being skeptical about something. Some people will pray, but end up not believing whether what they prayed for is even possible.
Reasons
According to Gen 18, Sarah did not think it was possible for her to have a child at her age. Sarah was expressing herself in lack of faith. She gave reasons in the fact that she was aged.
In verse 14 of the same chapter, God asks, 'Is there anything i can't do?'
Some of the reasons people give today include limitations, such as lack of education, family background and such. The truth is, these limitations should not determine your course.
Faith moves mountains. We must believe God for what seems impossible to man.
Mark 11:23 says “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
If you pray and not doubt, or give reasons, you will get anything you pray for, as long as it is in the will of God. It is not praying for long that works. It is praying in faith.
A righteous man who prays in faith can conquer anything.
Isaiah 24:18 clearly states that terror, pit and snare await the people of the earth.
The secret into conquering through all the trouble in the world, is in exercising faith. God's righteous people shall live by faith, not sight.