Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Is this why we have nothing?  Because we have asked without belief?  What have we done, then, when we’ve gone to the Lord in prayer to make our requests known?  Are we simply saying words or reciting lists, hoping for something without the sturdiness of faith behind it?  Or do we know that our God is a great God, a God who can do impossible things—more than we could ever think to ask for—and yet still bring doubts with us into our prayer closet?  Let us find the faith, then, to ask and believe.

First, we must believe that God loves us, because He does so with an unfailing love far beyond anything we could hope for or dream of, and yet it is so freely given.  He loves us for who we are, and we don’t have to do anything to earn that love.  It is there overflowing and ready to sweep us away.  And if that kind of love burns so strongly and brightly in the heart of the one we are coming to, then why can we not accept that He desires to bless us and answer our prayers?

And we must believe that God knows us.  He knows our hearts and all the things we hide there, the things we barely dare to hope for because it would seem too good to be true.  He knows the fears that we carry there, too, doubts about our worth and perhaps even about His generosity.  But those are fruitless fears, because we are worth everything to Him, and His heart is to give to us abundantly what He deems best, and His best is amazing.  And because He knows us so well, He knows just what to do with our desires.  And as we take them before Him, He’ll help us sort them out.  He’ll take from us the ones that don’t belong and give to us the ones He intends us to have.  Let us share our hearts and never close Him out, because He understands us more than we sometimes think.

We must believe in His power, believe in His generosity, and believe in His grace and goodness.  And if we look around at our lives and feel like God doesn’t answer prayer, we can’t blame Him for our unbelief.  We can’t blame Him for some attitude of selfishness.  We can’t blame Him for the things in our hearts that are hindering Him from working.  But we can get our hearts right and go before Him.  We can lay everything on the line and expect to hear from Him and expect to see Him work.  And when we go to Him with belief, asking in His will, we can expect to receive.