Misty Shultz: When seeking God, we must approach in faith

I have a framed quote in my home that says, “Faith isn’t believing that God can — it is knowing that he will.”

Too many times we wonder why we call out to God only to find that our prayer seemingly goes unanswered.

We question, “If God is there, why isn’t he making himself known in my life?”

Maybe God wants us to go beyond simply believing that he can participate in our lives to having confidence that he absolutely will.

In Mark 11:23-24, Jesus teaches, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (NKJV)

Jesus, himself, tells us that we must not only believe that what we ask will be done, but we must ask without doubt.

Why should I even bother asking for something over and over if I do not fully believe that God will answer my prayer?

He knows my heart, and he will not honor a prayer that is laced with doubt.

Flippant prayers offered to our lord and savior can often be more an act of desperation than of faith, and he knows the difference.

What is faith?

The author of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV)

If I have already seen something with my own eyes, I do not need faith to believe in it.

I may need to have faith that what I have seen is real or that it will continue, but I do not need faith to believe it exists.

When I met my husband, I really thought he was too good to be true.

Faith was not required to believe he existed because he stood before me in the flesh, but I needed faith to believe his character was as genuine as what he portrayed.

I had to hope for the evidence of things not yet seen.

The same if true if you are looking for a job, a spouse, a new home or a healed relationship. We must hope for those things that are not yet seen, believing that God will answer our prayers.

It is so easy for doubt to creep into our thoughts when we want, or need, something so badly, but it seems so far away, so impossible.

But, Jesus tells us that God answers prayers when we do not have doubt in our hearts. James reiterates this truth.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not the man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8, NKJV)

There it is again.

If we ask anything of our Lord in faith, he will give to us liberally. This means he will not give conservatively; he will go all out with his giving, he will hold nothing back.

But, we must ask without doubt.

Some of you may ask, “Isn’t a little bit of doubt normal? After all, I am human.”

Of course God knows the enemy may implant a certain amount of doubt and fear in our minds, but this does, indeed, come from the enemy and not from God.

You can renounce doubt and fear as often as you need to in order to increase your faith in God.

And, when you do, the most amazing thing happens, you begin to see God’s work clearly.

Lately, it seems God has been working overtime in my life. I see his fingerprints on everything around me, and I absolutely stand in awe of him.

As I was recently discussing this with my husband, I asked, “Do you think God is going above and beyond to make himself known to us during these end times? Do you think he wants me to have no doubts, so he is making his work incredibly obvious?”

With wisdom, my husband smiled and said, “No, God’s character never changes.”

I was convicted.

Sadly, it seems I never realized that so many blessings — what seemed before to be coincidences — were from him.

How exciting to develop this awareness.

As I have seen his work and believed, the blessings have multiplied. And, as they have multiplied, I have surrendered all doubt. And, as I have surrendered all doubt, he has fulfilled his promise to liberally answer my prayers.

He may not answer the way I expect, He may not answer in my timing, but he always answers.

Remember, prayers cannot be selfish, they cannot be sinful, they cannot be outside of his will.

But, so long as they are not, he utterly delights in answering our requests, growing our faith, and drawing us so very close to him.

No doubt, we serve such an amazingly personal God.



Misty Shultz holds master’s degrees in marriage and family counseling and Christian education. She can be reached at mshultz@reflectionofgrace.org.