Highlight: Putting our faith in the once more

What happens when God doesn’t answer your prayers? Do you fall into despair or take another step of faith towards God?

Pastor Peter Haas of Substance Church tells the dramatic story when one of the congregation members at the church he was preaching at had a heart attack. Paramedics and other church members spent 15 minutes trying to revive the man. They attempted to shock his heart back to life four times, to no avail. But the fifth time, things were different.

“My friend Matt Keller literally prayed in Jesus’ name that this guy would be healed and they shocked him a fifth time. All of a sudden, he lets out this huge yell, and took this massive breath. Sure enough, he literally took his breath and now he is discharged from the hospital, absolutely no brain issues.”

“Matt and I were just looking at each other afterwards like, did we just really see someone raised from the dead? Who knows, all I know is that God does things and we just need to be willing to trust Him.”

Peter says that we often think that if God doesn’t answer the first time we pray, we should just stop praying.

“But Jesus said in Luke 18, always pray, never give up. Now why would Jesus say always pray, never give up? Because He knew we would be tempted to give up.”

Sometimes it takes more than one prayer or step of faith to see a manifestation of God’s work. Peter references the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida. In that instance, Jesus lays his hands on the eyes of the man twice before he is healed.

“Was Christ’s first prayer not good enough? Sometimes it takes more than one faith action to experience the breakthrough that God has. I believe there are people out there today who God is calling them to one more faith action, just one more. If I have to give one more faith action until the day I die and God perfects my body, then so be it. In the meantime, I’m going to put my faith in the once more, because God’s Word says so.”


Peter Haas is the lead pastor at Substance Church and author of Broken Escalators and Pharisectomy.

Key Scripture: 1 Samuel 8

Featured Songs: Thank you – Bethel Music; You Make Me Brave – Bethel Music; Forever – Kari Jobe

Practical miracles