Chapter 1: Have you exercised faith many times but no results?

Faith is believing in the unseen, believing in the spiritual and acting on the word from God(not your own idea) to get it physical.
May be you are GAMBLING
I am not talking about money gambling. I am talking about you trying both the physical and the spiritual to see which works. I am talking about you talking to God and at the same time talking to one man at one corner of your heart about that thing you desire. If you have water in your bowl, do you also pray for rain into your bowl?, certainly no. Empty bowl will have the rain instead. Faith does not have alternative. You have to trust in God alone. No plan B. Having another plan, in addition to God, to get what you want is simply Gambling. If you want the rain, empty your bowl. Let it be that the only thing heaven is seeing in your bowl is your faith. Hmmm! I know u got that! Faith is spiritual. Your bowl is your heart. When God is looking down from heaven before he orders a rainfall, he is not seeing water already in your bowl, but faith.
Several times, Saul thought he was exercising faith, but he was actually gambling. God told him to destroy the Amalekites and spare no life. He did not kill their King and the best sheep and oxen, with 'faith' that God would accept them as sacrifice.
In 1 Samuel 13 also, Saul was to wait for Samuel in Gilgal to receive guidelines on how to offer the burnt offering to God, in bid to overcome the Philistines. After 7 days, Saul could no longer wait for Samuel and he got by himself a plan B by making the burnt offering in his own way before Samuel arrived, with 'faith' that it would fix the problem. God was, rather, displeased by this and declared through Samuel that his kingdom shall not continue.
The woman of Samaria seemed to exercise faith many times but no results. She had had 6 husbands at different times. And what i see is a woman who had 'faith' that her marriage would work each time she had a new man and changed him when things were not going fine. As she was believing God that one would work, she also had an alternative at one corner of her heart, another man somewhere. In a good study, her actions can be said as gambling, not faith, as you too can agree with me. Faith does not have alternatives. Faith is patient. Faith endures. Faith looks unto God, not man. If she had faith, she would look unto God for satisfaction and not seek satisfaction by changing husbands. No wonder Jesus came to her to give her the living water(the holy spirit who is the source of a satisfied life)
Many times we are doing gambling, not faith.

- Michael Seyi Babalola

Op while we may want to think that God does not respond to our prayers, we should also know that He knows the best for us.

If we can understand that everything on earth has its time, the less problems Christians would have in their journey with God.

God answers prayers in 4 ways:
1. Yes
2. No
3. Wait
4. Silence.

In anyway, we should accept it as God's will towards us.