# 3 God Requires Believing Prayers

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.  (James 1:5-8, NIV)

The season of sorrow seemed unending.  Each day carried more unwelcome news, and I was barely breathing.  Like the father who carried his convulsing son to Jesus, conjuring up faith that I didn't have caused me to call out to Jesus, "Help me overcome my unbelief".   

God does not ask us to find the strength within ourselves, but simply to believe that He is able.  Oh what freedom is found in the words--you should ask God.   

• If we need wisdom, we can ask God (James 1:5);
• If we need belief, we can ask God (Mark 9:24);  
• If we need anything, we can ask God (Matthew 7:8; Luke 11:10; John 14:14)
  

In the book, E.M. Bounds on Prayer, Bounds says, "Faith is not an aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon his promises.  Just as love and hope have always an objective so, also, has faith.  Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in him, trusting in his Word." .  

"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." 
John Wesley