Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for so long to have children that, when God sent an angel to tell them it would happen, they did not believe Him (Luke 1). I wonder: am I like that? Do I pray so long for something that I begin to disbelieve that God can do it? What in life can God not do? I know by reading God’s word that God can sometimes change His mind when we are persistent enough. Look at the story about Sodom: He allowed Abraham to talk Him into looking for good souls in that city. Then there is the story about the persistent widow (Luke 18): because she kept pestering Him, she got what she wanted. If God did not want us to pray for things — and even pester Him at times — would we have these examples to follow? God even tells us, in Matthew 17, that we can move mountains, if we have enough faith.

The book of Luke starts out telling us that he wrote these accounts so that we might know for a certainty that they are true. It is my belief that the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelations, is there so that we might know for a certainty what is true. If this, then, is why the Bible is here; if this, then, is why it is in so many different languages; and if this is why it is the most printed book out there, maybe we should take the time to read it.

If we read God’s promises and see what He has laid out for us, should we not believe it? If we read that we should be persistent in our prayers to Him, then should we not be persistent? If we read that God answers the prayers of the faithful, should we not believe that he will answer our prayers if we are faithful?

We do not need to ask, as Zechariah did, “How can I be sure?” We just need to read and get to know our Father through His word, so that “we may be sure of those things we hope for and certain of those things we do not see”.