A Matter Of Faith

5Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9“For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"
Matthew 8: 5 - 10 NKJV

The question came up in our group yesterday of prayer and faith.  Specificaly, the question of "Faith" in relation to asking our heavenly Father for what it is we desire in life.  Indeed, it is in Mark 11:24 where Jesus makes it very clear to those listening that we can ask whatever we desire of Father God and we shall have it...if we have faith.  Now, whether I'm simply playing the devils advocate or suggesting another opinion, I believe that it is this line of thinking which led to the "Name it and claim it" phase that was to be found in many a congregation not so long ago.  The line of thinking I am refering to is the one that we see our heavenly Father as simply a provider of all that is good in our lives.  While this is true, it is also God who is responsible for allowing times of trial as well.  The question which I pose is this, how much faith is enough to spur our Lord into action on our behalf?  How many prayers need we speak unto God in order for Him to listen?  If you recall, the Isrealites were crying out to God for over 400 years for Gods deliverance while they were in captivity in Egypt.  Didn't Gods people have enough faith?  Were they not praying to Gods satisfaction?  There are many people who have had the same experience, of praying to God for some need they were passionate about, believing that God was in tune with them, only to not have their prayers answered.  For those who may want to question our Lords motives, I assure you that God does not take vacations or ignore the needs of His children.  In fact, God already KNOWS what we need before we even ask Him for His provision.  I admit that I have fallen into the trap of believing that God was ignoring my needs when my prayers have gone unanswered in the past.  But was He really ignoring me?  For the whole time I was praying for Him to meet my heartfelt need, He continued to meet my daily needs of shelter, food and employment.

6For when we were still without strength, din due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5: 6 - 8 NKJV

Speaking from my own personal experience, I am well aware that having our own prayers remain unanswered can create doubts in our own faith.  A good example was my mothers illness before she passed last year.  For more than a few years people who knew her lifted up prayers to God for her recovery.  We're talking the prayers of faithfull pastors and true faithfull people of God.  Surely God would honor our repeated requests?  In the end, my mother passed away peacefully.  Now, where was God in all of this?  I'll tell you where, He was by her bedside each and every day as well as in the lives of those who were lifting her up in their prayers!  Whether it was my heavenly Fathers revelation or my own realization, after she passed the very thought which came to me was that my mom was no longer in pain.  Now, were my prayers answered?  Perhaps not the way I had wished they would have been, but I am 100% certain that God was in this situation from the start.  It is my belief that in our pain and anger of not having our requests granted, we can certainly have those feelings of anger and abandonment.  I did.  However, it is a slippery slope on which we slide if we hold to that belief that our heavenly Father will somehow abandon or ignore His beloved children.  He who loved us enough to save us despite our sin condition.  He who each and every day provides for all we need.  He is not simply a name it and claim it God, but our loving Father.

~Scott~