Does a Christian have to believe that God will give them what they ask Him in prayer before they get it? I had a friend tell me, "If a Christian doesn't believe that God will answer his prayers, then He won't."

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:5-8)

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
(Mark 11:22-24)

According to these verses, you and I won't have what we prayed for until we believe that God gave it to us when we prayed.

This is why it is so important to find out the will of God before we pray. The only way to discover what is the will of God is to read through the Bible. We know for instance that God has promised us wisdom, but we have to believe that God gave it to us when we prayed before we will get it.

The only way to build our faith is through reading and meditating on the Word.

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