But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. (James 1:6-7) 

Faith is one of prayer’s scriptural prerequisites. Without it, we need not expect answers to our prayers. Jesus taught His disciples that “faith in God” was imperative to prayer and a prerequisite to getting our prayers answered (Mark 11:22-24). Thus, there is no way to overestimate the importance of faith in our prayer lives.

It is not normally our failure to understand the importance of faith in prayer that results in our prayer lives becoming fruitless and frustrating. Instead, it is our misunderstanding of faith itself. Too many modern-day Christians have been convinced that faith is a self-induced surety of God’s performance of our will. Yet, such a definition of faith is far more suitable to a proper understanding of faithlessness.

To insist upon God doing our will rather than His own is to have faith in ourselves rather than faith in God. It is to say that we know best, that our way is better than God’s and our plans superior to His. Although praying for our will to be done is an extreme expression of confidence in ourselves, it is, at the same time, a clear illustration of our lack of confidence in Christ. It is a reversal of roles; Christ serving us by fulfilling our will rather than us serving Him by fulfilling His will. 

The Apostle Paul taught that God’s will for our lives is “good, acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). It cannot be improved upon. The best thing that can ever happen to us is for God’s will to be perfectly fulfilled in our lives, even when His will is contrary to ours. 

Despite the popular teachings of the modern-day Faith Movement, faith is not proven by us getting everything we ask for in prayer. Instead, faith is proven by our continual confidence in God even when our prayers go unanswered. It is not self-serving, but unshakable. It is an unwavering belief in the fact that God knows best, even when we don’t understand how His plans and purposes are presently unfolding for our own good and the good of others.

THE WILL OF GOD (Frederick William Faber) 

I worship thee, sweet will of God! 

And all thy ways adore; 

To every day I live, I seem

To love thee more and more.

Thou wert the end, the blessed rule

Of our Saviour’s toils and tears; 

Thou wert the passion of his heart 

Those three and thirty years.

And he hath breath’d into my soul 

A special love of thee,

A love to lose my will in his, 

And by that loss be free.

I love to see thee bring to nought 

The plans of wily men; 

When simple hearts outwit the wise, 

Oh, thou art loveliest then.

The headstrong world it presses hard 

Upon the church full oft, 

And then how easily thou turn’st 

The hard ways into soft.

I love to kiss each print where thou 

Hast set thine unseen feet; 

I cannot fear thee, blessed will!

Thine empire is so sweet.

When obstacles and trials seem 

Like prison walls to be, 

I do the little I can do, 

And leave the rest to thee.

I know not what it is to doubt,

My heart is ever gay;

I run no risk, for, come what will,

Thou always hast thy way.

I have no cares, O blessed will!

For all my cares are thine:

I live in triumph, Lord! for thou

Hast made thy triumphs mine.

And when it seems no chance or change

From grief can set me free,

Hope finds its strength in helplessness,

And gayly waits on thee.

Man’s weakness, waiting upon God,

Its end can never miss,

For men on earth no work can do

More angel-like than this.

Ride on, ride on, triumphantly,

Thou glorious will, ride on!

Faith’s pilgrim sons behind thee take

The road that thou hast gone.

He always wins who sides with God, 

To him no chance is lost; 

God’s will is sweetest to him, when

It triumphs at his cost.

Ill that he blesses is our good,

And unblessed good is ill;

And all is right that seems most wrong,

If it be his sweet will.