What good is prayer without faith?

Jesus said the prayer of faith can move mountains. And James wrote that it can make the sick person well. So why have I spent so much time trying to pray without the force of faith?


I guess I've been listening to the wrong voices.

Madison, Wisconsin: Badger Stadium, 1982. Michigan State continued to pound the University of Wisconsin in a lopsided football game. Wisconsin fans sat wallowing in self-pity hoping the game would end soon... except for a few weird fans in the top row.

They kept bursting out in cheers, ignoring their team's horrible humiliation. And the cheers kept coming, seeming to have nothing to do with the game.

Finally, some annoyed fans asked them why they were cheering while their team was losing. The answer is priceless.

They were listening to their other team, the Milwaukee Brewers, on portable radios as they were winning game three of the World Series!

Praying in faith means listening to the right voice - the Word of God - and not focusing on circumstances. Yes, faith is believing that God can... but it's also believing that he will.

So, how do I (a mere mortal) know for sure what God will do? It's simple. I see it in His word. I believe it. I become convinced of it. Then I pray. And much of my praying becomes thanksgiving for His answers that I know will come because He said so.

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17 NIV).