Jesus had just performed four miracles in answer to faith.

“There came a certain ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead; but come and lay thy hand upon her and she shall live.” When Jesus came to the ruler’s house, “He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.”

While He was on the way to the ruler’s house,
“a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched His garment; for she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.”

Next He restored sight to two blind men. They came to Him, “crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened.”

God can give you no greater blessing than you believe He can give. He cannot bestow on you anything greater than you are able to receive by faith.

Prayer is a recognition of our need, of our dependence upon God. In praying we give God a chance to employ His powers to relieve our distress and to supply our need. It is not a question of whether God is able to help us; it is only a question of our wills—will we give Him access to our needs?

Giving God access to our needs, permitting Him to exercise His own power in dealing with them, leaving it to Him to deal with them in His own time and way, according to His goodness and wisdom--that is the one great and fundamental question in connection with prayer.

What God does for us, is not only a question of our faith to ask, but of our faith to receive. We may ask, and not have faith to believe we shall receive. We may ask, and doubt that God is able to do what we ask. “He that believeth, and shall not doubt in his heart,” Jesus says, “shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark. 11: 23).