Read Mark 11:12-14, and 19-25
Miracles Still Do Happen, Right?
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry. He saw a fig tree in the distance with leaves but with no fruit because it was not the season for figs yet. And Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The disciples heard Jesus say this. In the evening, as they returned to Bethany, they passed by the same fig tree and saw that it had withered from the root. Peter exclaimed to Jesus, “The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
Jesus used this as a teaching moment. He said the following words:
1. Have faith in God.
2. Truly, I tell you…. Jesus started his statement with the word TRULY. In the Greek, “TRULY” means, ” I assure you.” It’s used to signify that what one is about to say should be taken with authority and with certainty.
3. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
4. “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
5. “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your father in Heaven May forgive you of your sins.”
If this passage was the only passage in the Bible on prayer, then these strong words Jesus said could only be taken as, “ask for whatever you want and it will be given to you.”
I have taken this passage literally in the past and prayed for things that never came to be. I prayed for my neighbor in the hospital who was in an accident and paralyzed from the waist down. I prayed she would walk again. I believed with all my heart. I asked if she believed Jesus could heal her, and she said yes! After praying, I moved the tray by her bedside and told her to get up and walk. But she couldn’t.
I want to read this passage as if it’s the only passage on prayer in the bible. I want to believe it and begin to pray for things that break my heart and see positive outcomes, and see miracles after miracles. Can you understand the bewilderment I had and even frustration toward God when he didn’t answer my prayer of faith? Ask. Believe. It will happen! Can you understand how people’s faith is destroyed when what Jesus said doesn’t come to pass?
How can I even begin to handle this passage and apply it to my Christian walk today? Here are some thoughts:
1. It’s not the only passage on prayer so one must interpret this passage in the context of other verses in the Bible.
2. Unconditional Faith says what you ask and believe in will happen. But Conditional Faith says Mark 11 is not absolute. It says you have to take into consideration other factors that God’s word says. Is it God’s will? Are you asking out of selfish motives?
3. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Paul asked three times for God to remove the thorn in his flesh. God didn’t remove it and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weaknesses…. ”
4. Verse 25-26 implies that unforgiveness can hinder one’s prayers.
5. The Old Testament mentions one’s disobedience as factors that hinder prayers made.
Selfishly, I want to believe, like so many others, that Mark 11:22-24 is absolute. But I can’t. If I’m going to believe in the Bible I have to consider all passages and not just the ones I like.
