Faith in Prayer: Honouring God Through Bold Asking

Jesus commanded His disciples: "All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing" (Matthew 20:22). The Victorian preacher Joseph S. Exell illuminates this through Alexander the Great's court philosopher. Though indigent, the scholar approached his patron with a staggering request: ten thousand pounds. The treasurer balked at such audacity, but Alexander commanded immediate payment. "This philosopher honours me," the conqueror declared. "By the largeness of his request, he shows the high idea he has conceived of my wealth and munificence."

So it is with Elohim. We cannot honour God more than by believing His word and acting upon that faith at His throne. Prayer without God's promise is a bow without an arrow; the promise without prayer is an arrow without a bow; faith without both is a hand that cannot draw. Neither promise alone, nor prayer alone, nor both without faith avail the Christian anything.

Exell records how an aged widow in Schleswig, fifty years prior, cried out to God to "build a wall of defence" around her family as hostile armies approached. Her grandson questioned why she prayed for the impossible. Yet her prayer—grounded in Scripture's ancient promises—demonstrates that Adonai honours bold faith. When we ask greatly, we testify to God's character. Our large requests are acts of worship.