“Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God?” John 11:40
One of the most important parts of the ministry of the Lord Jesus was to bring men and women to faith in Him. His method of doing this varied with different individuals in different circumstances, with different needs. That which was primary was Him speaking, for no man spoke like Him, one possessing the power and authority to heal, still a storm at sea, and most importantly, to convict and convince His hearers of the truth of what He said, and the truth of His person. Essential to faith is always the revelation of God to the heart and mind, or the soul. The true revelation of Christ to the heart is always one where truth is absolute, both the objective truth, and the subjective truth of Christ’s person. Christ always spoke the truth, because He was and IS the truth. No other man could ever claim this fact as true of himself, for no man was perfect in word, nor had the power to BE what he declared. Only God in Christ, coming to reveal Himself to men, could be the foundation for faith. Paul puts it like this: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11) So then, how does Christ bring a person to the matter of discovering the truth of what He says, and meeting Him on the basis of the truth of what He is?
In the account of the family where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, were siblings, there came a day in the sovereign working of God, that Lazarus fell sick, and died. Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus, who loved this family, asking that He come. Their hope was that if He were present Lazarus would not die of his sickness, as he was very ill. If their faith was what it should be, why could they not petition the Lord to pray for Lazarus from where He was, or speak a word so that he would be healed? Why did He need to be present? There was something deficient in their faith that Jesus wanted to address. That deficiency was revealed by what they needed to see, the present Christ with them. But did they truly, and profoundly grasp who Christ really was? Yes, they loved Him deeply, but what was it that they needed for faith to climb to heights so that God would be glorified by this situation where Lazarus would die? Jesus knew what was the issue for He told the disciples, “…This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” (Jn.11:4) The purpose of Jesus delaying to come to Lazarus’ aid, was to reveal something of the glory of God, increasing greatly the magnitude of the vision that all concerned needed, in order to believe Him for great and mighty things. The great test came when Jesus said, “Take ye away the stone,” as Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. It was then that the objective truth of who Christ was declared: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (11:25) Upon Jesus crying out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth,” the subjective reality of Christ’s power and divinity was unveiled, for Lazarus came out of the tomb, having risen from the dead. Jesus’ method to bring all concerned to a greater faith was to reveal His objective truth, confirming it by the revelation of His power.
What does this matter of faith have to do with prayer? It is very possible to pray to God, and not receive, because our vision of Christ is too small. It is possible to not know the objective truth of access, and provision to pray, that one hesitates to believe, and receive. However, if one is to truly pray, Christ must be the whole foundation.
Dear Father, Teach us to pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.