Tuesday 12 September 2023

Matthew 21:18-22

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.”

Such an interesting passage right in the middle of Jesus clearing out the Temple of money changers and the next day when the Pharisee’s want to know where Jesus’s authority comes from to do these things. 

We know that Jesus’ authority came from the Father, but do we realise that through the Holy Spirit and our faith in Jesus we have that same authority? Faith and belief are the keys. Not keys to magically ask for whatever we want, like three wishes from a genie, but faith to pray and ask for the things that are on Gods heart.  Praying by faith for God to accomplish the purposes he has for our lives and to see his righteousness and justice take place in the world through grace and love.

Someone once challenged me: how would you pray if God answered every one of the prayers you prayed in a year?  That really made me stop and be far more aware of God’s character and heart, to pray not just for myself, but for others and our world. Do I actually have faith for what I’m praying or are they just nice words and a good thing to do? It did and has changed the way I pray and to understand who God is and his character more.

Lord Jesus, increase my faith to be able to pray your heart and character for the situations that come into my life, the people in my world and world around me.

Written by Suzie Hodgson