For having been a Christian so long. . .

     For having been a Christian so long, Faith is STILL such a hard topic.  How do you pray with faith?
I was recently praying for something, and the reading that day was Jesus calming the storm.  He told the disciples that they should have had faith.  So I prayed, "I have faith!"  But what exactly does that mean?  That I am sure that God will give me exactly what I am asking for?  No.  That I should beg, and then He will give me what I am asking for?  No.  No begging, as though to twist God's arm.  That is, to my mind, strictly forbidden.  As though we could manipulate God!
    Last night, it finally came to me: Christ was the only on on the boat--indeed on the planet--who could have calmed that storm.  Only God can accomplish something like that.  Christ chastised the disciples for not knowing that He could accomplish the task and then asking for what they knew He could do.
    To pray with faith is to say: "I cannot do this; as much as I can do is still not enough.  Only you, God, can make this happen.  It is not that I have a share and You, God, have a share.  No, God, it is entirely your doing.  Despite anything and everything I do to bring about this goal, You and only you can provide the grace I am seeking."
   The prayer of faith is the prayer of humility.  It is realizing that we are nothing before God, we are powerless before God, and only God can bring about what is good.