Faith Isn't Blind

We often hear that if you don't pray “in faith” your prayers won't be answered. This even goes as far as telling parents that the reason their son/daughter is dying is because they don't have enough faith. Is this harsh teaching true? What does it mean to pray “in faith?”

For the answer, let's look at Hebrews 11, the famous “Faith Hall of Fame.” This is a list of people in the Old Testament who lived by faith, to show how God approves of such people. What kind of faith did they have? The first verse says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Many people would call this a blind faith; it cannot see God, but believes he's there anyway.

But this chapter doesn't just talk about things unseen. “All of these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” (11:13). They saw the promises “from a distance,” and lived their whole lives in accordance. Abraham, promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5), lived in faith that he would receive that promise. He saw it in the distance, even though he never saw it in his life.

Faith isn't blind; it's far-sighted. Faith may not be able to see how the promise will fulfilled, but it can see the end, and knows that it will be. Abraham had no idea how God would be able to give him so many descendants—but he knew he would.

And so when we pray, we need to know what God's promises are. God doesn't promise to heal every sickness we experience on earth; but he does promise his people that some day “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). He doesn't promise that our lives will be free from evil, but he does promise that Satan no longer has power over us (James 4:7). He doesn't promise that we will be rich, but he does promise that he knows our every need and that he loves to “give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11).

Knowing God's promises is essential to praying in faith. We're not to blindly believe something. We're to firmly believe in what we see off in the distance, even though we don't know how it will come. Faith seems blind because it refuses to see the present circumstances; even though things are bad now, it says, someday all things will be new. Faith is the opposite of despair.

Faith-filled prayer is rooted in the character and nature of the one we pray to. We only need faith enough to know that he will act the way he has always acted; that he is good, and that no matter what the present circumstances seem like, he will come through. Faith says “thus far, he has been faithful” and trusts that he will continue to do so.