The key to effective prayer is to believe without doubting that you already have the desired outcome. We don’t speak to our mountains in order to convince ourselves or build our faith. We speak to our mountains because we know that they must submit to us
It is as if we were speaking to a disobedient dog. If we know that as the dog’s owner we have authority over the dog, we use that authority without thinking twice. The dog knows our voice and our mannerisms and the dog knows our authority.
If we are speaking to a strange dog, we can’t really be sure if it is going to listen to our rebuke or not. There isn’t the same certainty and confidence. We speak to it ‘hoping’ that it will respond as we wish. But until we ‘see’ the results, we don’t believe. We are walking by sight, not by faith. However, with our own dog, we already know the results even before we speak. That dog is going to obey or suffer the consequences. There is no doubt.
It is the same way in prayer. Speaking to our problems or sicknesses before we are convinced will seldom have much effect. The key to effective prayer is to know the outcome ahead of time. We are so convinced of the will of God, of our authority in Christ and of the spiritual and physical outcome that speaking to the problem is just the final piece of the puzzle. It puts into motion that which is already assured in the Spirit.
Therefore, the necessary time must be spent in the Word and prayer until the assurance is manifested in our heart. When the Spirit bears witness with our spirit, then we know that our words will effect change in the invisible and visible worlds. There is no formula for this. It is the fruit of a relationship with God through His Word that brings us to a place of complete confidence, faith and authority through Jesus.