The Power of Faith in God through Prayer

Jesus Cursed the Fig Tree (Mark 11:12-14)

            The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the seasons for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. 

The Withered Fig Tree (Mark 11:20-25) NIV

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Jesus showed his disciples that there is no such thing as impossible when we ask God in faith and proclaim our faith in prayer. In this passage Jesus demonstrated the key elements of an answered prayer:

1. Have Faith in God

a. Faith - “Have faith…”

We need to have faith when we pray. We need to believe and hope that our prayer will be answered. We need to believe that it will be done.

b. God - “…in God”

 Notice that Jesus specifically said to pray in God. Not to any saints or anyone else but God. Because it is only God who can answer our prayers. He is the only one who can see our hearts and hear our prayers even when we pray in silence. Therefore, we must have faith in God alone.

2. Believe and not doubt

a. Believe- “believes what he says will happen” This is very important. Now that we know that we need to have faith in God, we must believe that God can do it and that our prayers will happen. That is why Jesus says it again by saying “believe that you have received it”. We must know who our God is. God is not just anybody, God owns the universe and everything we see. There is nothing impossible for him. So, whatever you need, believe that God is able to give it to you. “and it will be yours.” How wonderful it is to know that someone like our God would give extra special attention to our needs even the things that we want. God made us special and he wants us to know that as a Father, we can call on him through prayers and tell him what we need in our lives and believe that he can provide everything to us, even the most impossible things we can ever think of.

b. Doubt - “Does not doubt in his heart” Aside from our sins and wrong motives, this is one of the main reasons why so many of our prayers get hindered or delayed. This is because we are playing hide and seek with God. Sometimes we believe but sometimes we doubt our prayers. Doubting God is a sin and we must ask for his forgiveness every time we think that God is not able. For doubt is the absence of faith and without faith how are we able to believe that God can help. Therefore, doubt must be eliminated. We can do this, by counting our blessing, by giving thanks to God and by sharing our faith and blessing with others. So, when times comes that you feel like not doubting, there will be more things to remind you of God’s faithfulness.                

3. Forgive – “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Forgiveness is not easy, we need more than courage to forgive. We need to be selfless and humble. Moreover, we must lay it all to Jesus. We may think that a lot of people do not deserve forgiveness especially when they have done terrible things we cannot even imagine. But God said, we must forgive so that our sins must also be forgiven. We must pray for those who have wronged us, for Jesus will be our reconciliation.

If we go back to the story of the fig tree and the example of Jesus of the mountain throwing itself to the sea. We may wonder why he would use these kinds of examples. The mountain throwing itself to the sea seems so silly and humorous. But with wisdom, Jesus is just trying to imply that there is nothing impossible for God. That God has no boundaries and that even the mountain will obey him. Therefore, pray in faith in God. 

SOMETHING TO DO:

If there’s anything today that you would like to ask God, come to him in prayer and tell him everything that is in your heart. Tell God everything that you are longing for. It could be about a job, a broken relationship that you would want to be fixed, a dying marriage that you would want to be revived, or a tragedy that you want to move forward from. However big or small it is, God is always there to listen and yes! He would love to help you, just pray with faith in God, believe and not doubt, believe that you receive it and it will be yours. And when you pray, remember also to forgive. These are the words of Jesus. Pray and receive his answers today.

Church Goers: Physically present but mentally absent?!?

Question: Have you ever experience being in the church but your mind is wandering away? If yes, how often? once in while? or every Sunday? Today I would like to point out something really important for us Christians and believers of God.  

God: "I was with you but you were not with me."

I remember one time going to the church with my mind completely thinking about something else and is so far away from where I am. But then suddenly I felt this ache in my heart, like someone literally pinch it, I look around trying to observe all the people in the congregation on that Sunday morning and wonder, if everyone aside from me is actually listening to the sermon, and if everyone aside from me is really praising God while singing, and if everyone is actually praying when they close their eyes. What if everyone's mind is also somewhere else not here. Then with all these in mind, this one big question strike my heart like a punch... WHO IS WORSHIPPING GOD AT THIS MOMENT THEN? WHO AMONG THIS PEOPLE IS ACTUALLY LISTENING? I feel so bad, knowing that my mind was wondering around. Then God put his Words in my heart, reminding me that godliness is a so personal. Even though you go to the church every Sundays of your life, it will not count unless you truly worship him in the sanctuary and not missing the point of being in the church. Today, I would like to point out the main purposes of going to church:

First is to worship and be with God. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." Exodus 20:8 Sundays is not the only day to worship God, we can worship him daily and anytime. However, God also set aside a day for us to rest with him. And this day should be specifically dedicated to him for worship.

Second is that we may find rest with God. 

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Genesis 2:1-3

Most of us, work from weekdays to weekend and most of the time having difficulty finding time to pray and worship God. That is why God himself designated a day for us to rest and worship. Some worship on Saturdays, some on Sundays but whatever day it is, we must solely dedicate our time, heart and mind to God that we may find rest in him. God wants us to find rest in him.

Third is to fellowship with believers.

Another is that we may find encouragement and fellowship with believers. How sad to know that the world is not getting better and most would prefer to go to the mall, a party or even a coffee shop than to go to the church. They would rather sit and talk about an upcoming movie than to sit with believers.

How to be physically, mentally and spiritually present?

1. As much as possible, sleep early on Saturday so you will not be sleeping in the church.

2. If you need to do something, do it early on Saturday or set a schedule so that it will not be on your mind while you are in the church.

3. Before going to the church, confess your sins to God and pray that God will help you focus.

4. Concentrate on God's Word. To help you follow through the sermon, you can jot down notes to keep your mind from wandering. Avoid writing and drawing unnecessary things on the paper. This will also help you remember the sermons, in case you will forget.    

5. Wear something decent but comfortable.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

     Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your unfailing love. I know that most of the time, I find myself thinking about something else and not focusing on your Words. I am sorry. Please help me that I may truly worship you and focus only on you while I am in the church. Please teach me how to set my heart and mind on you while listening to your Word. Help me be physically, mentally and spiritually present while I am in the church. I need you to help me in this area of my Christian life. Help me to become faithful. Thank you Lord. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.  

SOMETHING TO DO: BE PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY PRESENT THIS COMING SUNDAY.

Do not Give up!

Are you having difficulties and problems today? And everything seems falling apart? And you will like giving up? Do not worry, just pray continually and do not give up. I remember a story in the Bible about Jesus telling his disciples to pray and not give up. Something that we all must do when we are in trouble or in a situation that is out of our control. Let's read this short story and see what Jesus means:  

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Praying is essential to every Christian. It is a lifeline that helps us continue and survive the trials and difficulties in life. Prayer is a lifeline to God. But tell me, how do you ask God about your needs? Are you persistent enough to get your prayers answered? Or do you pray without even believing that God can do it. God made it plain and even tell us a story about the power of prayer and how we must pray. Let us discover the power of prayer through the character of the widow in the parable:

CHARACTER OF THE WIDOW:

1. Persistent. The most obvious character of the widow is being persistent. She keeps on coming to the judge for help. This is exactly what God wants us to do. To keep on coming to him. We must pray continually without ceasing. Why do we need to be persistent? Because God sees our sincerity through our persistency. Persistency pays a lot even in prayer as Jesus mentioned,"And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?"   If we cry to God and plea for our needs, will he keep silent? No he will not so we must pray continually without stopping as God is listening to our cry and will act in our behalf. 

2. Faith. The woman knows that the judge can do something about her problem because he is of the authority and power to fix it. She has faith with the judge. God also wants us to go to him persistently asking him in faith, believing that God can do it for us and that he can handle our problems and issues in life and that he has the authority and power over all.

3. Determine. The woman never give up. She is determined that she will be helped and justice will be served. We must be like her, determined that God can do it, never giving up, but always looking forward to what God can do for it. Let's put our hope in God. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:11


RESPOND OF THE UNGODLY JUDGE:
He refused for a while but helped the widow eventually. Though the judge refuses for a while but because of her persistency the judge eventually helped her. “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!

RESPOND OF GOD:
God will quickly answer. “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. God knows our heart and if he sees that we are persistently praying in faith he will quickly respond to our prayer. God is a just God and he will make sure that justice is serve. He will help the helpless especially those who cry for his mercy.

God always answers when we call to him with an earnest heart. Call to him and he will come and rescue you.

PRAYER:

Dear God,

            Thank you for reminding me today that you are willing to help me and that I should be persistent in faith when I call on you. I know that you can help me and you are bigger than my fear and worries in life. You have the authority over all the earth and over my life. Please let me know that you are near and that you can do something for me. If my faith is too small, please let me experience you that I may believe and be blessed by you. Thank you Oh, God! Let me pray continuously without stopping, let me know that you are able. This is what I pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.