18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:18 – 22)
Approximately one month ago we reviewed the Discipline of Prayer and discussed how important it is that Believers pray for a world in need. We know that faith is essential in prayer but for many of us, faith is a challenge. In fact, often when our need is most pronounced, our doubt is most intense. On the road to Jerusalem during Passion week, Jesus challenged His disciples to “believe” and “receive”. It might be easy for us to rationalize away this passage of scripture, but the encouragement from Jesus is clear – God can move mountains for us if we completely trust Him.
The world is desperately in need of the kind of hope that can only come from us praying.
Please prayerfully read the passage above and consider the question and request below.
Question/Request
- What encouragement do you find in the words of Jesus to pray with more confidence?
- Talk to God about your doubts and ask Him to help you deepen your faith in Him.
April 8, 2020 at 9:27 am
I am encouraged that my God is so powerful, mighty and all knowing, and that He loves me unconditionally. He knows my inner being and He will never leave me or forsake me. My Lord and Savior is a Promise Keeper, the source of my strength and joy, the reason why there is hope and reason for my existence on earth. May I continue to live for the Lord and remain grateful for all His blessings, grace and mercy. My prayer is that I may aways keep your precepts, reminding me of what you have done for me in the past and glorify you in all my action, word and deed.
April 8, 2020 at 11:26 am
My Jesus, My Saviour…I know that He is always with me. I do not count how many times a day he shows me his presence. There are times when we are weak, and may stumble, but Our Lord is always there to lean, to guide, comfort and keep us. Don’t doubt his strength in everything with a big E.
April 8, 2020 at 1:20 pm
I am greatly encouraged by Jesus’s words to pray with more confidence. When I made the decision to stop worrying and leave everything to God through prayer, it was amazing how “light” I felt. it is so much easier to pray to Him for guidance and direction, have faith, live for Him, and let Him deal with my situation. He has never let me down, and even when His response isn’t what I hoped for, I still feel good knowing that His answer is always the right one.
Praying with faith is huge for me now. There are still prayers I come to God with repeatedly because He hasn’t fulfilled them yet, but His Word says, “Pray without ceasing”, so that’s what I am going to do.
April 8, 2020 at 2:49 pm
The world has taught us to believe in ourselves, be self-reliant. Our burdens will certainly be lighter, if we trust God in every situation of our lives.
April 8, 2020 at 7:33 pm
Terrae May this IF be a positive prayer of Trusting in God, for all, at this time.
April 8, 2020 at 4:57 pm
Hi don’t know why I did not receive today the email but here I am.
As Terrance said “the world has taught—” and I say teaching even more to only see what humans can do.
The World Leasders should all be mandating five mis a day for praying or meditating but instead we look at Science.
This pandemic will come and another will come and we make the same mistakes over and over
God is waiting for All to come to him.
I was so sick last year from an adverse reaction to a pneumonia shot and I can attest that through my Prayers I am cured.
The doctors were making worse.
The great Practioner did the Healing.
I will continue to pray without ceasing.
April 9, 2020 at 3:02 am
The verse in the text, Matthew 21:22..”if you believe you will receive whatever you ask in prayer “, encourages me to pray with confidence.
Hebrews 11 gives many examples of what was achieved by many with faith. In verse 6 of that chapter which states: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. This leads me to recall James 5:16…”the prayer of a righteous person is powerful & effective”. Also, the verse which states ” seek God first & His righteousness…. … For me also, as stated in the text, ‘often when the need is most pronounced, our doubt is most intense’. To pray with confidence I believe that I need to ask for forgiveness, to ask God to create a clean heart in me, to be ‘right’ with God, to not be selfish & materialistic, to seek His will. And of course to have faith.