Believe What You Pray

And there appeared to him ( Zechariah ) an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elisabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." Luke 1:11-13

And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." Luke 1:18-20

Zechariah was in the Lord's presence in the temple, and the angel Gabriel appears to him, and says his prayers have been answered. He and his wife were going to have a son!

And Zechariah's first response was straight up doubt and unbelief.

      
Your prayers have been answered!
What are you talking about?? It's impossible. Completely impossible!


This isn't like the movie, The Princess Diaries, where shut up means gee whiz, oh my goodness, or no way!

He didn't believe in what he was praying.

Prayer is not something to be treated lightly or viewed as something we do because it is expected. Prayer is powerful. If you are going to pray for something/someone, expect results.

Our first response should never be, "No, that's impossible. It's not going to happen." It reflects that our inner attitude was that we never believed this was going to happen. Our response should be praise and thanksgiving. Belief. A reflection of our prayers.

When my prayers get to God, I don't want them to be laced with unbelief. I want them to be strong.

---Joy