What If He Really Meant It?
We are quick to play down Jesus’ words, especially when they seem unrealistic (which they often do). He often confronts us with the ideal of living in complete faith and dependence on God, something we fall quite short of attaining. Today’s statement deals with prayer, something many, if not most of us struggle deeply with. We feel disconnected, ineffective and distracted during prayer and thus we feel guilty rather than encouraged. The confidence of Jesus’ words leaves us wondering: “what if He really meant it?”
And 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. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matthew 21:21-22).
- Read Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
- Read Jesus the Messiah by Robert Stein
- Read Synopsis of the Four Gospels (English Only) by Kurt Aland
Posted in Christian Living, Scripture
April 29th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Thanks for this thought, Brent. Very applicable for me lately, and very encouraging.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Wow, what a powerful way of thinking about the Bible. I mean, it’s so obvious that it shouldn’t have to strike me as it did, but wow!
Thanks for that. I needed it.