How to Have Faith Without Being Presumptuous

To be presumptuous can mean to be arrogant or disrespectful. In praying and asking God for things, don't assume that He will absolutely do whatever you are asking for. Just as Jesus prayed "Your will be done, not my will," so should we pray.



Steps


Realize that God is God and you are not. You are not in charge of the universe, God is. You cannot declare things into existence like God can. You are only a human being. You will never have as much power as God.
Remember that prayer is about making requests, not telling God what to do. Don't be presumptuous and think that God will give you whatever you want. The Bible says that God will meet all of our needs, but not all of our wants. There were dozen of people that Jesus did not heal. When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, he usually did not give them one.
Stay humble when you pray. A great verse is "What is man that you are mindful of him?" Also, James 4:14 says, "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." Amen. We are nothing but dust, essentially. We are like ants compared to the magnificence of God, the creator of the world. To think of ourselves as on the same level, or even close, would be very prideful.
Know that sometimes God does not want to give us what we want. A big reason for this is because God might realize that the thing we want might become an idol for us. He doesn't want us to be distracted from focusing on Him, so there are certain things he might never give us.
See the truth that God does not necessarily want you to be rich. There is a popular idea out now that God wants you to be wealthy, but that concept cannot be found in the Bible. Rather Jesus taught that we should be willing to give all that we have away to the poor. Jesus said that "You cannot love both God and money." Money often conflicts with our devotion to God. Therefore, often times God will not give us a lot more money than we need.
Realize that God is capable of healing anything or anyone he wants, but he is not always willing to. For whatever reason, God allows many people to live with pain. In the Bible, Paul says that God allowed Satan to give him a thorn in flesh to humble him. Sometimes God will let us suffer physically to humble us and draw us close to him. Suffering often produces a greater character in someone. Therefore, God allows us to suffer to make us better people.
Remember that God works all things together for good. Just because you might want some discomfort to go away now, that does not mean that is in your best interest. God might use a test you are going through now to become your testimony later on and bring others to Christ. God sees the big picture, whereas we only see what is happening now. Trust that God knows what he is doing.


Tips


Be careful what preachers you listen to. Always test what they say with the Bible. Just because something sounds good, doesn't mean it's true. Know what the Bible says for yourself.


Warnings


Don't get discouraged in all this and not pray. We still need to pray, always, without ceasing. Amen. Jesus said, "You have not because you ask not." So ask, but be ok with God telling you no as well.