PRAYER AND GOD’S PROMISES

Every promise of God finds its affirmative in him, and through him can be said the final Amen, to the glory of God – 2 Cor. 1:20, Phillips

“A promise by God is a pledge by God. It provides the warrant and forms the basis of the prayer of faith. The stability of a promise rests upon the character and resources of the One who makes it, even as the value of a cheque depends on the probity and resources of the one who signs it. The character and fidelity of God vouch for the credibility of the promises He makes.

It is entirely with such promises the prayer of faith has to do. As we claim a promise of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit imparts the faith to believe that its terms will be fulfilled in the context of our prayer. With God, promise and performance are inseparable.

But promises must be distinguished from facts. We accept a stated fact of God’s Word, but we plead a promise. When God proclaims a fact, faith accepts and acts upon it. When God makes a promise, we comply with its conditions, claim its fulfilment and receive the promised favour. The function of the prayer of faith is to turn God’s promises into facts of experience. The patriarchs through faith obtained the fulfilment of God’s promises (Heb. 11:33), and turned them into personal experience.

The prayer of faith has its basis in neither outward circumstances nor inward feelings. It is when sight brings no helpful vision and comfortable emotions are largely absent that the prayer of faith finds its greatest opportunity. It springs from the naked promise or affirmation of the Word of God, for faith proceeds only from a divine warrant. The prayer of faith is the power which converts promise into performance.”