A Trustworthy God

A Trustworthy God

Bible Reading: Mark 11:22-24

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out.

We may have avoided prayer before we entered recovery and now find that we have questions about it. Maybe we find that our prayers go unanswered and wonder why. We may lack faith because we’re not sure the things we’re asking for are in God’s will. Our faith may also be weak because of all the broken promises we’ve experienced with others. All of these things can discourage.

There are a few basic guidelines to follow when asking God for something in prayer. First, we need to ask: “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it” (James 4:2). Second, we need to ask in accordance with God’s will: “Even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:3). God won’t give us the things that feed our lusts and addictions.

“Jesus said to the disciples, . . . ‘You must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours” (Mark 11:22-24). The way we develop a faith without doubt is to become sure about what is in God’s will. This assurance comes from knowing what he has promised us in the Bible.

The better we know God, the more we will discover how trustworthy he is.