Romans 4:21

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Have faith in God. Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.—Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

The children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.

This is one of the most blessed aspects of genuine prayer . Often we ask for things that God has not specifically promised. Therefore we are not sure if our petitions are in line with His purpose, until we have persevered for some time in prayer . Yet on some occasions, and this was one in the life of David, we are fully persuaded that what we are asking is in accordance with God’s will. We feel led to select and plead a promise from the pages of Scripture, having been specially impressed that it contains a message for us.

At these times, we may say with confident faith, “Do as you promised.” Hardly any stance could be more completely beautiful, strong, or safe than that of putting your finger on a promise of God’s divine Word and then claiming it. Doing so requires no anguish, struggle, or wrestling but simply presenting the check and asking for cash. It is as simple as producing the promise and claiming its fulfillment. Nor will there be any doubt or cloudiness about the request. If all requests were this definitive, there would be much more interest in prayer . It is much better to claim a few specific things than to make twenty vague requests. F. B. MEYER

How important it is for God to keep us focused on things that are unseen, for we are so easily snared by the things we can see! If Peter was ever going to walk on the water, he had to walk, but if he was going to swim to Jesus, he had to swim. He could not do both. If a bird is going to fly, it must stay away from fences and trees, trusting the buoyancy of its wings. And if it tries to stay within easy reach of the ground, it will never fly very well.

God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength and let him see that with his own body he could do nothing. He had to consider his own body “as good as dead” (Hebrews 11:12) and then trust God to do all the work. When he looked away from himself and trusted only God, he became “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:21).