“Have faith in God…” Mark 11:22
Dear Ones:
If there is one place where faith is tested, and proven, it is in the matter of prayer. In seeking to teach His disciples concerning the relationship between faith and prayer, the Lord Jesus on one occasion, in going up to Jerusalem with His disciples, spoke to a fig tree, which subsequently, “…dried up from the roots.” Jesus would use the withered, and dried up tree, to illustrate certain lessons concerning prayer. What were they?
The first lesson is that of faith, faith in the faithfulness of God. He begins by declaring: “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22) There is no mention of man or idol here as an object of faith, only and wholly God. So that, the first thing in prayer is faith. This is substantiated by what we read in Hebrews 11:6, “…for he that comes to God must believe that He IS and that He IS a REWARDER of them that diligently seek Him.” Prayer is NOT an empty boast concerning a God who may possibly exist, and who just might answer in the real world that which is asked of Him. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus begins with the premise, and certainty, of the existence of God, that He is worthy of all of our trust, and the exercise of our entire faith.
The second lesson with regard to faith and prayer, is that, in our coming to God, He is to be approached as the God that He is…Almighty, Sovereign, and yet, willing to hear and respond to the call of our hearts. The Lord Jesus speaks of the removal of mountains, of us being able to speak to the mountain, ordering it to be removed and cast into the sea. Why does He speak of “this” mountain, and yet, we never see the Lord Jesus casting one into the sea? Physical mountains are impossible obstacles to remove. Is it not more so when we are faced with spiritual mountains, impossible obstacles which can only be removed by God? The greatest mountain is that of sin, the sin of the entire human race, which the Lord Jesus would take upon Himself, and bear for us. He would REMOVE it. And we are called to believe Him for the removal of it in the individual life, in answer to prayer. It does not matter whether it is a large or small mountain. It is the same to God. Ours is to believe HIM for the removal of it, and the total dealing with it.
The third lesson is this: God meets us where we live, and in the quiet recesses of our hearts. He calls us to meet HIM, and know His will, His desires, and His way. It is for this reason that He addresses the matter of our desires, regardless of the small, dried fig trees in our lives, or the towering mountains, which risk to overwhelm us. The desires that He gives to the heart, are those which He will respond to.(Ps. 37:4) It is in asking according to those blessed, God-given desires, always in accordance with His will, that He most certainly answers prayer, and gives that which is needed. Thus, the call is: “…when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye received them, and ye shall have them.” (v.24)
Dear Father, You are the source of prayer, communicated to us in Jesus’ name, by the Spirit. Teach us to pray, seeing Thee as greater than every dried fig tree, and towering mountain…for they are all the same to Thee. Give to us the desires of Your heart, that we may pray according to Your will. Then we shall be certain of prayers answered, and we shall see Your glory, to the praise of Your name. In Jesus’ name, we thank Thee, Amen.
Love, Dad