The biblical formula is "the prayer of faith." Prayer and faith are here bound together by the little preposition of, and what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Faith is only genuine as it eventuates into prayer.
When Tennyson wrote "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," he probably uttered a truth of vaster significance than even he understood. While it is not always possible to trace an act of God to its prayer-cause, it is yet safe to say that prayer is back of everything that God does for the sons of men here upon earth. One would gather as much from a simple reading of the Scriptures.
What profit is there in prayer? Much in every way. Whatever God can do, faith can do, and whatever faith can do prayer can do when it is offered in faith. An invitation to prayer is, therefore, an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs. Nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God.
This generation has yet to prove all that prayer can do for believing men and women."
~ AW Tozer
God would not ask us - command us to pray unless He had every intention of answering prayer. Why then, do we sometimes feel that our prayers have gone unanswered?
Perhaps it's because we did not pray in faith, believing that He would answer.
Or, perhaps He answered, but we did not like the answer. Let's admit it, we want God to answer our prayers the way we think is best.
Complete healing...and fast.
Loved ones saved...today.
Finances sorted out...yesterday.
And when that doesn't happen, we assume that God hasn't heard or answered.
Sometimes His answer is "no," because He wants us to walk through the difficulty in order to learn more about His all-sufficient grace or because He us using the trial to shape our character more into the image of Christ.
And we have to be okay with that - He is, after all...God.
Read God's word, see what things are in His will, then pray with faith, believing...but don't stress if the answer is "no," because He is building a greater faith in you than you know.
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