“21And Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen. 22And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.’” – Matthew 21:21-22 (ESV)
Jesus had just scolded a fig tree for not producing any fruit when He went to draw from it, and the disciples were marveled and wanted to know how. Now, I want to take a step back from the question or observation here that Jesus scolded a tree that did not produce fruit for Him to draw, as that is not the story. The story is how did it happen.
In Matthew 7, Jesus says:
“7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7 (ESV)
Now He is expanding on that to include how it works. It is through prayer to the Father and faith that He will act on your behalf. God is listening and wants to provide, and it is up to us to ask, but asking flippantly is not the way. The ask has to come from the heart and there is faith that God will provide for the ask.
We have to open our eyes and accept that which God provides based on our ask. I have asked for many things from the LORD and when it came to it, I did not receive what I asked for, or so I thought. You see, God hears our prayer and then counts that against the plan He has for you and me. After review, He then answers the prayer to be in line with His plan. I may not get exactly what I wanted, but I will get what God determines to be in line with His plan.
I know, Jesus says that if we ask for a mountain to be thrown into the sea, it will happen with our prayer and faith, and it will. The thing is, it may not happen as we expect or in the time we want. It may be that the area will flood and cover the mountain and that flooding will happen 100 years from now. But, you see, God will deliver on your ask through prayer and with your faith.
There is power in prayer, and all I have to do is to understand that power and know that my asks will be answered by the LORD in His time and in line with His plan for me.
What asks do you have for the LORD? Are you asking in prayer with faith and are you expecting immediate results? What if you asked through prayer and with faith and understood that God will answer in His time and His plan for you?
Trevor's Thoughts 