Often it is simply the answers to our prayers that cause many of the difficulties in the Christian life. We pray for patience, and our Father sends demanding people our way who test us to the limit, “because . . . suffering produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3).

We pray for a submissive spirit, and God sends suffering again, for we learn to be obedient in the same way Christ “learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

We pray to be unselfish, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice by placing other people’s needs first and by laying down our lives for other believers. We pray for strength and humility, and “a messenger of Satan” (2 Corinthians 12:7) comes to torment us until we lie on the ground pleading for it to be withdrawn.

We pray to the Lord, as His apostles did, saying, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). Then our money seems to take wings and fly away; our children become critically ill; an employee becomes careless, slow, and wasteful; or some other new trial comes upon us, requiring more faith than we have ever before experienced.

We pray for a Christlike life that exhibits the humility of a lamb. Then we are asked to perform some lowly task, or we are unjustly accused and given no opportunity to explain, for “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and . . . did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

We pray for gentleness and quickly face a storm of temptation to be harsh and irritable. We pray for quietness, and suddenly every nerve is stressed to its limit with tremendous tension so that we may learn that when He sends His peace, no one can disturb it.

We pray for love for others, and God sends unique suffering by sending people our way who are difficult to love and who say things that get on our nerves and tear at our hearts. He does this because “love is patient, love is kind. . . . It does not dishonor others . . . it is not easily angered. . . . It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5, 7–8).

Yes, we pray to be like Jesus, and God’s answer is: “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10); “Will your courage endure or your hands be strong?” (Ezekiel 22:14); “Can you drink the cup?” (Matthew 20:22).

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance and every trial as being straight from the hand of our loving Father; to live “with him in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 2:6), above the clouds, in the very presence of His throne; and to look down from glory on our circumstances as being lovingly and divinely appointed.

I prayed for strength, and then I lost awhile All sense of nearness, human and divine; The love I leaned on failed and pierced my heart, The hands I clung to loosed themselves from mine; But while I swayed, weak, trembling, and alone, The everlasting arms upheld my own.

I prayed for light; the sun went down in clouds, The moon was darkened by a misty doubt, The stars of heaven were dimmed by earthly fears, And all my little candle flames burned out; But while I sat in shadow, wrapped in night, The face of Christ made all the darkness bright.

I prayed for peace, and dreamed of restful ease, A slumber free from pain, a hushed repose; Above my head the skies were black with storm, And fiercer grew the onslaught of my foes; But while the battle raged, and wild winds blew, I heard His voice and perfect peace I knew.

I thank You, Lord, You were too wise to heed My feeble prayers, and answer as I sought, Since these rich gifts Your bounty has bestowed Have brought me more than all I asked or thought; Giver of good, so answer each request With Your own giving, better than my best. ANNIE JOHNSON FLINT

If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother . . . Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

Him that is weak in the faith.—Strong in faith, giving glory to God.

O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?—Great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.

Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord . . . According to your faith be it unto you.

Lord, increase our faith.—Building up yourselves on your most holy faith.—Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith.—He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, . . . is God.—The God of all grace . . . after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

We . . . that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.—Let us not . . . judge one another . . . but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

Barak said unto [Deborah], if thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan.

Gideon . . . feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, . . . did it by night. And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand as thou hast said, . . . let me prove, I pray thee. And God did so.

Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.—Who hath despised the day of small things?

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly.—Lord, increase our faith.—I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

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.

He that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.—Being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Is any thing too hard for the Lord ?—With God all things are possible.—Lord, increase our faith.

By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him.

Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That 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.

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Lord, increase our faith.