The Principles of Prayer XI

 If the first pillar of a robust, active, and fruitful prayer life is consecration, the second indispensable pillar is faith. For the introspective, self-assessing sort among us, it comes as no surprise that faith grows and stretches in tandem with one’s prayer life. Likewise, it is another aspect of our walk that we have the ability to nurture, devote time to, and grow.

While we have no control over geopolitical machinations, who goes to war with whom, or what the weather will be like tomorrow, we do have agency over how much time we devote to prayer, and whether we are striving to build up our most holy faith consistently and faithfully.

One of the easiest ways to get sidelined from doing the things we ought to be doing is to obsess over the things we can’t control, or have no hope of swaying one way or the other. We can scream into the void, we can shake our fists and go on rants on our preferred social media platforms, but as far as influencing the matter at hand, it will always be out of reach.

God shapes the future, and tomorrow is wholly His. God raises up kings and puts them down. God covers the land with peace or snatches it from the hearts of men outright. All we can do is pray that God’s will be done, then take the appropriate measures that will ensure we are standing on a foundation of truth, steadfast and unmoved, trusting wholly in His grace to carry us through whatever may come.

We get into our own heads and tend to overcomplicate simple things, whether as a defense mechanism against doing what we know we can, or as a means of distraction to keep us rooted to the same spot for fear of the pain or disruption that growth will cause. I am a creature of habit. It’s always been the case. I wake up within a thirty-minute window, brew a cup of coffee, spend some time reading the word, write a little, take the girls to school on the weekdays, and head into the office.

Any disruption to those habitual practices is unsettling and uncomfortable, yet sometimes they are unavoidable. Whether one of the girls has a fever and has to stay home, or I’ve run out of coffee and didn’t notice until there was none to be had, and I have to debase myself and brew a cup of tea, there’s always bound to be something that throws a wrench into my well-laid plans, and I have to adjust.

That’s when you prioritize. That’s when you take a breath and determine what the non-negotiables are on that given day, and what you can put off until things get back to normal. Prayer, studying the Word, and building up our faith are indispensable when it comes to a healthy and vibrant spiritual life. We can put off not logging onto Facebook for a day, a week, or a lifetime without any adverse effects. We can put off learning how to whittle wood, knitting cat sweaters, learning a new language, or watching that oh so exciting course on body hair contouring, but what we can’t put off are the essentials.

In order to rightly prioritize it, prayer must become an essential, just as necessary for your wellbeing as breathing air, drinking water, or eating food. Living lives of prayer and walking in faith are choices we make every day. Even the most superficial Christian can decide to pray one day, or read the Bible one day, but what marks a true believer who hungers for the deeper things of God is the consistency with which they do these things.

Prayer must become so ingrained in your daily life that the idea of missing one day out of the month and not having fellowship with God seems inconceivable to you. As your prayer life grows, it is inevitable that your faith will likewise increase, and as you mature in the ways of God, the value and worth of these two virtues become ever clearer.

Matthew 21:21-22, “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘be removed and cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”’

So was Jesus saying we should go around moving mountains because they’re blocking our view, or cursing trees on a whim because we couldn’t find a ripe peach? Or, is it perhaps Christ’s way of telling His disciples that if they have faith, there are no limits to what God can do? Was He encouraging us to cast mountains into the sea, or have full assurance in the omnipotence of God?

I have seen bona fide miracles in my life. No, they don’t happen daily, yes, they are rare, and there has never been a porta-potty that doubled as a teleportation device to the halls of heaven. Even so, I have yet to see a mountain being cast into the sea by anyone, and I’m sure that if it did occur, it would make the news.

To human understanding, a mountain being cast into the sea is the pinnacle of impossibility. Yet, Jesus said that when we couple faith with prayer, the impossible becomes possible because the God we serve can do the impossible.

Tragically, this simple precept has been perverted by modern-day wolves who insist that whatever you have your eye on, whether a mansion or a jet, all you need to do is claim it, and it’s yours. It’s a cottage industry that started in America and has now spread throughout the world, with people treating God like a magic genie they can demand things from, and who has to bow to their desires, because they asked in what they deem to be faith. Why it’s always about some material thing, and not more power, authority, or vision, is in itself telling, and one day, when we all stand before the God of all that is, men who twisted and perverted the way of Jesus for their filthy lucre will have to answer for it.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Posted on 25 April 2025 | 11:17 am