I once read a story about a Catholic priest who was a godly person. He was so godly that when he died people believed that his bones had healing powers.

People would line up for days just to touch his bones because they believed that by touching his bones they would be cured of all aliments that were plaguing them.

And, sure enough, day-by-day, miracles were happening--people were being healed by touching this guy's bones.

One day, the priest came in and discovered that someone had broken into the church and stolen the bones.

Yup! Stole them.

Because people were always waiting on line to touch these miracle bones, there were tons of people already lined up outside, waiting. The priests were afraid that if they delivered the news that the bones were missing, the people would riot.

So, instead of causing a riot, what they decided to do was to tell the police about the stolen bones, ask them to make finding the bones top priority and to keep it quiet -- not let the word get out because they didn't want the people to start rioting in the streets.

The way the priest figured it was, in a few days, the police will have the bones back in its place and in the meantime, they would use somebody else's bones. The problem is, the only bones they had were the bones of a thief. But hey, who would know the difference? Yes, people wouldn't be healed for a few days while the police locate the "miracle" bones, but that was better than having a riot on their hands.

So, they dug up bones and used those bones in place of the "miracle" bones.

The priest nervously looked on as people piled in to get healed by touching these bones.

And guess what?

People were being healed.

People were touching the bones of a thief and were being healed.

How could this be?

Because it didn't matter WHAT bones were there because there was no magic or miracle power in those bones.

The power is in believing.

In Matthew 21:22, Jesus states: "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Whatever you ask for, AND BELIEVE, you shall receive.

Because those people BELIEVED that by touching those bones they would be healed, they were healed.

The power is in believing.

If it weren't true, Jesus wouldn't have said it.

So, when you say, "Oh, I've been praying for such and such and God isn't hearing my prayers."

It's not that he's not hearing your prayers, it's that YOU do not believe that you will receive whatever it is that you are asking for. God hears our hearts and give us whatever we believe.

There's power in believing.

Develop your belief system and you will see miracles happening in your life.

Whatever you ask for in prayer, AND BELIEVE, shall be given unto you.

Dawn Fields is a motivational speaker, life coach and author. She teaches how to discover your life's purpose and incorporate it into a career, in a really, down-to-earth, no nonsense sort of approach. Visit the web site at http://www.dawnfields.com and sign up for Your Life's Purpose newsletter by sending a blank email to mailto:dawn@dawnfields.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Tune in each and every Thursday to Your Life's Purpose Interactive Internet Radio with at 9 p.m. EST by going to http://www.dawnfields.com/radioshow.htm