The Faith Of God

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which you cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

Mark 11: 22-24 NKJV 

How many of us know faith?  Who among us has TRUE faith?  What faith am I talking about?  Let me put it another way.  How many of us, when we pray, sincerly believe we will receive what we are asking our Lord for?  How often do we accept our prayer requests as fact?  In Mark 11 we see yet another valuable teaching from our Lord Jesus, at the expense of a fig tree.  The story actually begins the day before as Jesus and his disciples were traveling.  Being weary and hungry, Jesus came upon said fig tree, but being out of season, there was no fruit.  Now, I prefer to believe that even this episode was one of many teachable moments planned by our Lord.  Whatever the case, as Jesus notices the fruitless tree, he declares "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again!"  Of course, he spoke these words within earshot of his disciples.  Now, the next morning we find Jesus and his followers passing by the very same fig tree Jesus had condemned the day before.  Interstingly, young Peter in fact refers to his Lords words as "A curse."  It is here where Jesus' teaching begins.  

Jesus' teaching in Mark 11 can be invaluable to us today.  For it is here that our Lord reveals what I've often heard refered to as "The faith of God."  What is this faith of God?  Well, I believe simply put it is stating as fact that what we are asking God for will come to be.  Jesus describes this faith as someone who "Does not doubt in his heart."  I can understand Jesus' line of thought here, for if we ask for something, yet still carry doubts that it will come to pass, then we do not believe that it can happen.   Do we trust God to deliver what we're asking, or do we doubt his ability?  I believe trust is ultimately the heart of this issue.  It's no small coincidence that, when the disciples pointed out that withered fig tree, that our Lords first response was "Have faith in God."  For how can we ask anything of our Lord without believing that he can and will provide it?  Have we ever came to God with a prayer request by saying, "Lord, if you can help me, I'd  appreciate it?"  No, for Jesus tells us to ask of God without doubt!  I suppose that this approach may sound pretty close to the "Name it and claim it" approach made popular a few years back, but we do well to remember one thing here.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

James 4:3 NKJV 

There are those who make a habit of praying and asking God for great wealth, really?  Suppose God happened to bless you with that request, just what would your priotities become?  I'm guessing that almost all of us would be in danger of putting God on the back burner.  The new focus would be extra wealth.  I believe this is exactly what James was refering to in James 4:3.  After all, does our Lord not know exactly what we need at each and every moment?  Long before we speak our requests to him, our loving God is already planning how to best provide for his children.  

~Scott~