The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Withered prayers
Karen and I were just discussing prayer in the car this week. The question was why should we keep praying for things over and over? Do we trust God for the answers if we keep praying the same prayer repeatedly? In addition to the statements about belief in today’s passage we discussed the parable of the persistent widow. In today’s passage it seems we should pray once and believe it will happen. In the parable of the persistent woman it seems like we should never stop praying for the same thing. So what is it?
Well, Yes! We need to keep praying while simultaneously believing. The disciples’ amazement at the withered fig tree demonstrates they still did not understand the power of words proclaimed through the power of God. Jesus is not surprised the fig tree withered, he cursed it. He expected nothing less than destruction for it. Just as he expected nothing less than blessing for those he blessed. Jesus expected this because he was praying in the power of God not in human power.
Jesus was fully connected to the power of God. But we can be too. We can live in God’s power if we are willing to surrender our power to God. When we operate in this realm, our prayers are not our own, they are God’s. Our prayers are not our desires they are God’s desires.
Unfortunately, we are disconnecting ourselves from the power of God far too often. We sin; but Jesus tells us repentance and forgiveness restores the connection. When we are disconnected from God’s power our prayers will wither. Staying connected to God’s power available to us in the Holy Spirit is essential to prayers that go beyond the ceiling. So keep praying, but pray in belief that what you pray for will happen in God’s time.
God, I acknowledge far too often I pray and then immediately take back control of the situation I just prayed for. I admit, I pray and do not believe what I am praying for will take place at times. Help my unbelief to turn into belief and confidence in you each time I pray. - Dan Jones
Remove obstacle
s to blessing others!Jesus treated the fig tree the way he treats us who, centered on our own lives, forget that we exist to bless others, and that, in so living, we ourselves find full life. Jesus will have nothing to do with people who fill their days, focus their creativity, and fashion their religion to merely benefit their own appetites!
But this is often exactly what we do with Jesus’ next words about prayer! We hear “ask for anything with enough faith and God will dutifully provide it. If I’m sick, ask in faith, and I’ll be healed. If I’m in financial trouble, ask in faith, and God will provide for me. If anything threatens me, my body, my wellbeing, or my – me, me, me life, ask in faith and God dutifully answer with, “your wish is my command!”
But this yanks Jesus’ words out of their context where we find Jewish spiritual leaders all wrapped up in themselves. In fact, we find the Palm Sunday crowd likewise focused on their own political yearnings.
Jesus offers us the amazing ability to move mountains through prayer and ask for and receive anything in the context of demanding that his people bless all the nations of the earth. The obstacles God yearns to remove for us are not obstacles to personal dreams, but obstacles to blessing the world. It is not that he doesn’t care for us or want to meet my personal needs. It is that he isn’t talking about that subject here.
So naturally Jesus concludes with talk about forgiveness. Grudge holding is one of those mountains he wants us to ask him to remove; as is bitterness and rage. We cannot bless others when ugly thoughts and emotions toward them dominate us.
Servant Jesus, thank you for laying down your life for me. Grant me all the miracles I need to happen in my life in order for me to follow you into being the same kind of servant to those around me, and those I will never meet. Remove whatever obstacles need removing and make me a blessing. - Mike Leamon
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