Text: Acts 14:8-10
Memory verse:
”And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.“
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God is never moved by our needs, no matter its size or its nature, nor is He moved by our emotions. He is not even moved by the multitude of our words. If you look through the scriptures, you will see that faith is the key factor that moves God in our prayers.
In Mark 2:1-5, the Bible records how four men brought their paralytic friend to be healed by Jesus. Going through the crowd, climbing a ladder and opening the roof to let the man down to where Jesus was in the room was so emotional! Who would not commend even the paralytic for enduring the pain while being carried through the hurdles! Yet, all these were not what moved Jesus but their faith. ”When Jesus saw their faith …”“ ‭‭(Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬). Faith is tangible. It can be seen and can be measured. The Lord paid special attention to their faith and not on the time they spent to reach Him. It is possible to attend different prayer meetings, go through different hurdles to be there, cry and spend hours in prayer without faith.
According to our text today, Paul was not moved by the fact that the man was born crippled. That was enough to attract anyone’s sentiment, but he wasn’t moved by that. ”This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,“ ‭‭(Acts‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬). Did you notice that? Paul saw that he had faith to be healed.
Friends, it is not enough to pray, you must also believe that God can do what He has promised you. You can’t please God with your loud cries, tears, pressure, or your long prayers. God knows whether you have faith or not when you come before Him in prayer. “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.” (Heb 11:6 MSG).
Friends, while emotions, cries, religious zeal and length of time spent in prayer may have a resemblance of faith, they don’t actually define faith. Come before Him in true faith and you will attract His attention.

Prayer points
1. Father, I thank You that You are the living God and the God of all impossibilities. Glorify Yourself in my situation, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, help me to always please You by my faith whenever I come to you in prayer, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. I know that God answers the prayer of faith and not the prayer of emotions.
2. My faith attracts God’s attention and not the length of my prayer.