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, New International Version)
Theme: Discipleship
Context:
We will continue to fan the flames of passion for prayer. In pursuit of this objective, we can draw from our rich Christian heritage built over more than two millennia. Last week, we considered thoughts on prayer from the Old and New Testaments. This week we will consider thoughts from disciples of Jesus from the first century of Christianity to today. We will hear from disciples of Jesus who have demonstrated a passion for prayer.
Let’s start in the 4th century AD and hear from Saint Augustine of Hippo. Saint Augustine was a theologian born in North Africa in 354 AD (died in 430 AD). He made many proclamations on the topic of prayer. We will consider a small subset from one of Saint Augustine’s sermons (Sermon 65 on the New Testament) that addresses the important virtue of faith. Because it was written in a different era, the wording of the sermon may be a little strange but the message is powerful. Read the short passage below from St. Augustine a few times and let the message minister to you:
“The lesson of the Holy Gospel builds us up unto the duty of praying and believing, and of not putting our trust in ourselves, but in the Lord.. If faith fail, prayer perishes. For who prays for that which he does not believe?… So then that we may pray, let us believe; and that this same faith whereby we pray fail not, let us pray. Faith pours out prayer, and the pouring out of prayer obtains the strengthening of faith. Faith, I say, pours out prayer, the pouring out of prayer obtains strengthening even for faith itself.”
Bible Passage:
Please prayerfully read today’s Scripture passage and consider the questions below.
Question:
- How would you summarize St. Augustine’s view on the relationship between faith and prayer?
- How does the relationship between faith and prayer impact your prayer life?
Sharing your thoughts could be a big help to someone else. Please leave a comment on the blog.
March 11, 2024 at 4:57 am
With faith and prayer, you cannot have one without the other. Prayer is driven by having the belief in the Gospel and the faith that God hears our prayers. Our faith is strengthened through prayer, as well as prayer strengthens our faith.
March 11, 2024 at 6:07 am
A person without faith cannot really pour out his heart or pray sincerely to his God. Praying in itself is a way to strengthen faith, but without faith , there’s no way you can pray. There must be a ” belief” that God exists for a person to have faith and turn to that God through prayer.
Prayer and faith impact my life greatly. I don’t think I will be in this group if I don’t have the faith I have now, and continuing to enjoy my life despite all the challenges or trials, I face in life. Faith also involved worship. I guess I cannot pray if I don’t worship and adore my God. At the same time, it is by praying and having relationship with my God that allows me to grow in faith , strengthening me and making me the person the Lord wants me to be.
March 11, 2024 at 7:03 am
St. Augustine is saying faith and prayer “need each other.” One without the other will not yield the appropriate result when we communicate with God.
In my prayer life, I have to keep in mind that when I pray to God, especially when it’s a prayer where I am asking Him to take control of a situation, I have to really let go and believe in my heart that He is going to handle it in the way that’s best for me.
My faith during my prayer needs to be legitimate. I shouldn’t be wondering what my next step should be. I should have that “weight off my shoulder“ feeling after praying faithfully.
Faith and prayer should always go hand-in-hand.
March 11, 2024 at 7:07 am
Firstly I had to think hard about St Augustine’s “ if faith fails”. Faith can only fail if there’s no actions taken. So when we pray that’s our faith in action and obviously we believe or we wouldn’t pray. My faith is strengthened more through knowledge of God, and what His word says and this leads to my actions of praying.