But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. James 1:6–7 (NLT)
If I announced that I had ten brand-new cars to give away, could you believe by faith that you would receive one of them?
Let’s think this through. If 20,000 people are reading this and they all believe that they are going to get a car, 19,990 are going to be disappointed, right? On the other hand, if I say that every single person who is reading this is going to get a car, you can believe that you’re getting a car.
God’s Word clearly states what you are promised. If you want to have faith, you have to know what His Word says. You have to be convinced of what you’ve been promised before you can pray the prayer of faith effectively. For example, James 1:5 says you can pray and believe to receive wisdom. That’s a promise. However, if you don’t believe you are really going to get what you pray for, you doubt, and verses 6 and 7 say then you won’t receive anything.
Actually, before you pray, go to the Word. Do your research, find verses on the promise you need, meditate on them to grow your faith and then pray. If you just shoot out a prayer without becoming convinced first, it won’t be effective. In fact, you’ll only diminish your faith. If you pray, but secretly you’re still just hoping it’s going to happen, you have some work to do. You’re not yet fully convinced.
So, go to the Word. Find those promises. Read them, write them out and memorize them until they pour out of you and your faith will increase. Then when you pray, you’ll receive!