What?

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:14-16 NLT

Semantics, according to the Oxford dictionary, is the study of how meaning in language is created by the use and interrelationships of words, phrases, and sentences. For instance, do 'Say a prayer' and 'Pray a prayer' imply the same thing to you? Do you want someone to respond to your request with 'I'll say a prayer for you' or 'I'll pray for you'? Does one imply more fervor than the other? It may all be a matter of semantics - the implication of your words. Some people don't break it down to the letter of the language, while others do.

I'm not trying to provoke an argument over say vs. pray, but I am trying to provoke you to check your heart. Are we paying lip service - speaking Christianese - or do we believe the Word of God? Matthew 21:22 reads, And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. So - say vs. pray to receive and believe? It may be a matter of semantics, but what's your heart telling you?

Prayer:

Father,
We choose to pray in faith - the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen - nothing waivering. We choose to stand on Your Word, believing that when we pray believing we shall have whatsoever we ask in Your Name. We know Your Word is true and Truth over what we see, no matter what it is. Cause our faith to grow, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

I Before E Except After C When Praying

Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Matthew 21:18-22 NIV

Do you remember in music class the mnemonic devices to help you learn the grand staff? Treble clef for lines was Every Good Boy Does Fine - E G B D F and for spaces was FACE for F-A-C-E. People use mnemonics for all sorts of subjects.

The ones I'm most familiar with are for spelling. One of the most well-known is I before E except after C... except it doesn't always work. However, I have found that I Before E Except After C works extremely well when learning how to pray.

People are always looking for books on how to pray. Is there a formula? What makes it work? Why doesn't it work? Oftentimes, people get discouraged because they prayed for something and didn't get the answer they prayed for. The truth is sometimes we don't because the answer is no. Sometimes we're not seeing the overall picture or not seeing from God's perspective. Sometimes it's because the attitude in which we pray is "I'll believe it when I see it."  Bad attitude. This is where we need to incorporate I Before E Except After C when praying.

As our text for today points out, we must believe BEFORE we can expect to receive. That will help us to keep our priorities straight. Believe FIRST.

Prayer:

Father, 
          Forgive us for being out of order, Lord. Help us to grow our faith to believe when we pray so that we may receive what we pray for according to Your will. We pray as the father prayed in Mark 9, I do believe! Help my unbelief! In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Heart Check

Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you have it; it’s yours!
Mark 11:24 The Living Bible

This was Jesus' response to Peter's being amazed at the fig tree being withered - the one Christ had cursed the day before. As Christians, we love to quote this Scripture! We like to just jump right in there and pray for anything and think we should get it. After all, isn't that what it says? Actually no, it isn't.

The spoken word is powerful, no doubt, but let's do a heart check on this. Knowing Christ for who He is, we know that everything He says and everything He does are always in the will of God. That's where we start.

What are we praying for? Does it line up with the Word of God? Does it oppose the Word of God in any manner? If whatever we're praying for does NOT line up with the Word of God, it definitely is not the will of God, so it's not happening. It doesn't matter how much you pray or how much you believe... which brings us to the next checkpoint.

Believing. He didn't say, "Pray for anything and think you should get it, and it's yours." He clarified BELIEVE. If it lines up with the Word of God, you pray for it and must believe. Not wait and see if it happens. Not wishing and hoping. Not crossing your fingers. Actually believing in faith that it is done!

That's not the end of it. Verse 24 is taken out of context when just uttered on its own. The whole reference includes verses 22-26 - the before and after factor I've mentioned in previous posts. Let's read it here:

In reply Jesus said to the disciples, “If you only have faith in God—this is the absolute truth—you can say to this Mount of Olives, ‘Rise up and fall into the Mediterranean,’ and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and have no doubt! Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you have it; it’s yours! But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins too.”

Our faith must be in God. We must not doubt. Okay, so our petition lines up with the Word of God. We truly believe. Our faith is in God... what about verse 26? But when you are praying, first forgive... Heart check! Are we holding a grudge against anyone?

Unforgiveness is a deal-breaker. Not only are our prayers not answered, but we can't be forgiven of our sins, either. I don't know about you, but I need forgiveness on a daily basis. Dear Ones, let's check our hearts.

Father,
           Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for always making clear what it is You want us to know. Please give us wisdom, according to Your Word, so that we may understand You and all that You would have us do. Check our hearts, Father. Reveal to us the error of our ways. Remove that which alienates us from You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen