HAVE FAITH IN GOD

Mark 11:20–25 ESV

As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

FAITH IN GOD EXPRESSED IN PRAYER MAKES THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE YET ANSWERED PRAYER IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS.

Andrew Murray well said, “Christ actually meant prayer to be the great power by which His church should do its work and the neglect of prayer is the great reason the church has not greater power over the masses in Christian and heathen countries. . . . The power of the church to truly bless rests on intercession: asking and receiving Heavenly gifts to carry to men”

“Have faith in God.” The great missionary Hudson Taylor said, “God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.” He is faithful when the religious establishment and its institutions fail. Trust the One who judges hypocrisy with severity and extends amazing grace to those who seek it in faith.

The “mountain” is a hyperbole. It represents what appears to be impossible, immovable, beyond our finite ability. Good! This is where faith begins. Believing faith taps into God’s power to accomplish His purpose. Again hear Andrew Murray: “We have a God who delights in impossibilities”.

True and believing prayer is not attempting to get God to change His will to fit our plans. It is a passionate pursuit to see God’s plans accomplished in us! Prayer is not conjuring God up like some “genie in a bottle” obligated to grant us whatever we wish. Here are a few verses to keep us from drawing such a foolish theological conclusion.

Matthew 6:9–10 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Mark 14:36 ESV

And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Confidence in power; “all things are possible for you”. Complete submission to His will; “yet not what I will, but what you will.”

John 14:13–14 ESV

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 15:7 ESV

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 16:23–24 ESV

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

When we pray with mountain-moving faith, our God will give us what we need to glorify His name. In one of his hymns, John Newton said,

Thou are coming to a King! Large petitions with thee bring! For His grace and power are such— none can ever ask too much! (Newton, “Come, My Soul,” 1779)

So when we pray, we trust not only in His power to give us what we ask but also in His wisdom to give us what we need! I trust Him enough to have Him turn me down if that is what He chooses. That means “we may receive answers we do not want, find things we are not looking for, and have doors opened [and closed] we do not expect”.

When prayer is the source of faith’s power and the means of its strength God’s sovereignty is its only restriction.

Did Jesus promise to give literally anything we ask in faith?

On the face of it, this verse seems to be saying that God will grant any request we make of Him as long as we believe. On the other hand, Paul asked God three times to be relieved of his thorn in the flesh, and God refused (2 Cor. 12:8–9)

There are limitations on what God will give, indicated both by the context and by other texts, as well as by the laws of God’s own nature and the universe.

First of all, God cannot literally give us anything. Some things are actually impossible. For example, God cannot grant a request of a creature to be God. Neither can He answer a request to approve of our sin. God will not give us a stone if we ask for bread, nor will He give us a serpent if we ask for fish (cf. Matt. 7:9–10).

Second, the context of Jesus’ promise in Mark 11 indicates that it was not unconditional, for the very next verse says “If you … forgive” your brother then God will forgive your trespasses. Thus, there is no reason to believe that Jesus intended us to take His promise to give us “whatever things” we ask without any conditions.

Third, all difficult passages should be interpreted in harmony with other clear statements of Scripture. And it is clear that God does not promise, for example, to heal everyone for whom we pray in faith. Paul wasn’t healed, though he prayed earnestly and faithfully (2 Cor. 12:8–9). Jesus taught that it was not the blind man’s lack of faith that hindered his being healed. Rather, he was born blind “that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3). In spite of the Apostle Paul’s divine ability to heal others (Acts 28:9), later he apparently could not heal either Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25ff) or Trophimus (2 Tim. 4:20). It clearly was not unbelief that brought Job’s sickness on him (Job 1:1). What is more, if faith of the recipient were the condition for receiving a miracle, then none of the dead Jesus raised would have come back to life, since the dead cannot believe!

Finally, when the rest of Scripture is taken into consideration there are many conditions placed on God’s promise to answer prayer in addition to faith. We must “abide in Him” and let His Word “abide in us” (John 15:7). We cannot “ask amiss” out of our own selfishness (James 4:3). Furthermore, we must ask “according to His will” (1 John 5:14). Even Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup [His death] pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). For prayer is not a means by which God serves us. Rather, it is a means by which we serve God. Prayer is not a means by which we get our will done in heaven, but a means by which God gets His will done on earth.

PRAYING IMPOSSIBLE PRAYERS IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS.

Mark 11:25–26 ESV

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Forgive is the same verb used for "releasing a wife" (divorcing) and in secular Greek is found in a writing that says in effect "let the pot drop!" That's a great word picture of forgiveness. Let the pot drop or is modern colloquial speech "Bury the hatchet." (Just don't let the handle stick up to you can grab it again!)

We bury the hatchet But leave the handle stickin' out We're always diggin' up things We should forget about When it comes to forgettin' Baby, there ain't no doubt We bury the hatchet But leave the handle sticking out

-Garth Brooks, "We Bury The Hatchet" ​​​​​​​ on the Album: Ropin The Wind

And here is the really difficult part - forgive is in the present imperative meaning do it and keep on doing it as your habitual practice! Now just try to do that with someone who has offended you or hurt your feelings unfairly! You cannot do it! It is IM-possible in our innate power. But it is HIM-possible in the Spirit's incomparable power.

An unforgiving spirit will form a fatal roadblock in our prayer life.

Psalm 66:18 ESV

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

If God can reconcile with a sinner, you can reconcile with a saint.

Faith in God expressed in prayer makes the impossible possible yet answered prayer is impossible without forgiveness.