Word Live: Faith-Filled Prayer
Remember some of the times God answered your prayers and give him thanks.
Bible passage
Mark 11:20–26
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig-tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig-tree you cursed has withered!’
22 ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. 23 ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
Jesus demonstrates the power of his words by cursing the fig tree (v 20), then tells us that we can do more than that with our words (v 23).
What does it mean to have faith and not doubt (v 23)? Does God have some kind of cosmic ‘belief-ometer’ that gives us our miracle when we reach the right level of faith? Perhaps you have been told by well-meaning friends that you need more faith when your prayer seems to go unanswered. Or, that an answer never came because of your lack of faith. But this sounds more like secular ‘positive thinking’ than the ‘faith in God’ that Jesus commands (v 22). To have faith in him we must first know him, and know that he is both trustworthy and mighty.
I’ve often found that it’s easier to have faith for someone else’s problem than for my own. That’s probably not a bad thing! I love to pray for others, believing that God will bring a miracle. But I’ve also had to learn to be humble enough to ask others to pray for me when I am finding it hard to believe that God will answer my prayer. Think, for example, about the friends of the paralysed man in Mark 2:1–12. Jesus commended their faith as he healed their friend.
Author
Alison Allen
Respond
Pray for yourself (or a friend). Do you need to ask someone to stand with you in prayer and in faith?
Deeper Bible study
‘Thou art coming to a King, / large petitions with thee bring; / for his grace and power are such, / none can ever ask too much.’1
As with any conversation, so it is with prayer: it takes two. Today’s passage teaches about both parties – the ones who pray and the one to whom they pray. What does it tell us of Jesus Christ, the one to whom and through whom we pray? In the cursing of the fig tree – the only truly ‘destructive’ miracle2 – we are reminded of two attributes of Jesus. First, he is Lord over all creation: he is the one who created all things and is supreme over all things.3 Second, he has divine authority: he is the one who, with a word, can bring dead things to life or, if necessary, cause what has life to wither (vs 14,20,21). What an encouragement to know that our prayers rise up to this all-creating, all-powerful God!
What, then, of us – the ones who pray? Jesus speaks of two bedrocks to our prayer life: faith and forgiveness (vs 22–25).4 Our faith in prayer is not to be founded upon ourselves or our own efforts, but on God and all that he has proved himself to be. The same power that withered the fig tree and even raised Christ from the dead is the power available to us today.5 How that should raise our faith in prayer!
Finally, Jesus is clear that forgiveness is an essential foundation to our prayers (v 25).6 Grace is the basis on which we access God in prayer and the basis of our faith in prayer. It must, then, be outworked in our lives as we determine to forgive those who have sinned against us. ‘And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them’ (v 25). Perhaps, like me, on hearing these words, you also need to respond with forgiving action.
‘… whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours’ (v 24). Pray bold prayers of faith, before the all-powerful God.
1 John Newton, ‘Come, my soul’ 2 Cole, 1995, p251; Hendriksen, 1975, p443 3Col 1:15–17 4 Cole, 1995, p256 5Eph 1:19,20 6Matt 6:9–14
Author
Fiona Silley
