Beggar or believer?

In one of his powerfully effective sermons, John G. Lake said,"We are splendid beggars, magnificent beggars, but poor believers." 

 He continued, "About the hardest thing to get hold of is a good old-fashioned Christian who believes God.
Lake also quoted a friend who said, "Quit begging... and believe God for a while and see if something will not happen." 
Beloved, whether you get an answer from heaven or not depends on the set of your soul. When your heart is set and fixed in God, in believing faith, something will take place!
 
"Beloved it is not our long prayers, but our believing God that gets the answer."

God's Word says the same thing to us-
Mark 11:23-24 "When you pray, believe that ye receive them and you shall have them." 

When ye pray...BELIEVE!

When ye pray...believe that you RECEIVE.

When ye pray...believe that you receive and you SHALL HAVE.

Notice the sequence of events - believe - receive - you shall have! 
You may ask the question - how do I go from" begging" prayers to "believing" prayers?
One way that is highly effective and not too hard is a very simple step.   

This is how you take that simple step:

Begging prayer - "O God, please heal me."

Believing prayer - "O God, I thank you for healing me."  (Did you hear the word "thank"?)
Frame your prayers with thanksgiving and you'll be amazed how different your prayer looks and sounds. 

Phil 4:6 tells us, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
                             with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Many people leave the thanksgiving portion out of their prayer life and wonder why their prayers have no life!

Keith Moore adds this insight, "We do not receive according to the greatness of God's provision... we do not receive according to the greatness of the need... we receive according to our faith."
He adds, "There are believers who have learned to thank God when the answer arrives...but it is the believer who has faith that will thank God BEFORE the answer has appeared!

Use the power of faith by giving thanks with your mouth!
Pave the way for the receiving of your requests by thanking Him NOW.
Giving Him thanks before you have received is proof of your faith in God (faith is the evidence of things not seen)