Pray with confidence

Scripture I'm reflecting on:  Matthew 9:29
     "When he touched their eyes and said, "because of your faith, it will happen."

Two blind men just had seen Jesus' wonderful healing power.  They asked for their own healing.  They followed Jesus, even walked into the house he was staying at.  Jesus asked a simple question... "Do you believe I can make you see"....

Reflection:
Jesus could have healed these men when he first saw them with the snap of his fingers.  But he didn't. They had to follow him for a while.  They had to be persistent by entering into the house.  And they have to believe he would heal them.

Do you ever think feel like its taking too long for your prayers to be answered?  I'm sure we've all been there at some point, I know I have.  In fact I find myself fighting that thought out of my head almost daily.  When you get that feeling, do you give up on the prayer?  Do you tell yourself that prayer won't be answered.  This story is a perfect way to reflect when those thoughts start creeping into your heart.  Don't stop following God, following your prayer, just because it didn't happen right away.  Don't give up on a prayer, keep the faith.  And with that faith, don't hope that your prayer will be answered, but know it will be answered.

One of my biggest struggles is this concept of knowing my prayer will be answered.  I still find myself asking and hoping for things in prayer, instead of merely just praying and knowing God will take care of it.  It seems so easy to get into this mindset.  Prayers don't always get answered exactly how we want, but they are all answered, and answered in the right way regardless of whether we can see it.

How is your "prayer attitude?"  Do you have any sense of skepticism when you pray?  Doubt?  Impatience?  Find a way to erase these thoughts.  Finding verses like this is my attempt to work through these thoughts in my head.  The Bible is filled with stories of how true faith, true persistence, and true belief in God will lead all of our prayers to be answered.

Final Thought:
Look back on all the times God has blessed you, protected you, and provided for you.  No matter who you are or how bad things may be for you, you will be able to come up with an endless list to those questions if you give it enough reflection.  All we are asked to give back in return for these blessings is faith.  Seems like more than a fair deal to me.
Next time you pray for something, pray as if it has already been provided.  Pray as if it you have already been blessed with the answer.  Because in all actuality, you have been....