James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Over the years I have witnessed many Christians weakened by the notion that because their prayers had not been answered, that their faith was in question. Misguided men have in the past held faith prayer over the heads of their flock, a means of manipulation and control. Some were cult leaders, some were just ignorant of the grace of God.

James 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

This verse in James gave them some liberty to lay claim that man can ask and the Lord would answer if your faith was strong enough. The truth is deeper and more complex than simply praying.

1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Yes Elijah prayed but look to these important words; “before whom I stand”. It is here in the throne room of God that Elijah knew the mind of God. Israel had sinned a great sin against God and it was Elijah’s responsibility to make known what the consequences of that great sin would be.

Elijah did nothing more than pray the will of God from a place of hearing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. Faith prayer begins with the will of God spoken and heard by those who come before Him.

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Not all prayer is prayer of faith. We are urged to pray without ceasing, to be earnest in prayer, to reveal our hearts and make requests. In those prayers we are but beggars at the door.

Grace abounds.

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

How do you know which doctrines are sound and which ones are not? I think it is important to look into the prophetic portion of this verse as it warns “the time will come”. Other warnings are scattered about the scriptures about things that will be seen in our very churches. Maybe not yours, but what if it did? How would you know?

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Could it be that the deception, the falling away is directly relating to sound doctrine? It is important that we understand the scriptures and that those responsible for teaching and preaching are held accountable for what they do and say. Let no man think that he is so righteous that he is not accountable to someone.

Acts 17:2,5 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

Here in verse 5 we see the actions of those who would not submit themselves to the truth. The standard is the Word. When someone comes to you with scripture and asks to test your doctrine against the Word, will you subject yourself to reasoning out of the Word? Do you hold yourself accountable to someone who will test your doctrine?

Paul reasoned in the synagogues for three weeks. It was not a one and done testing. I have an accountability partner but I am also accountable to you. If I say something that you feel is unsound, I want you to hold me accountable by using the comments section. Let us reason together.