What grabs my immediate attention when reading this story is Jesus’ statement that if we do not doubt, whatever we ask for in prayer will be ours. This statement has caused much concern in the hearts of Jesus’ followers. Which one of us hasn’t prayed and prayed that a loved one be made well, only to see them suffer and die. What other conclusion can we draw than we are weak in faith or full of doubt? But…
I think the more important lesson in this text is not that prayer is like a lotto ticket for those with faith, but Jesus’ preface to that statement: Have faith in God. Faith is simply (but not so simple to do!) complete trust in God that all things are in God’s hands. Faith is to surrender our whole lives to God.
I have learned over the years that God’s answers to our prayers are rarely as we envision them to be. But our prayers are always answered.
But maybe we should not be so quick to try to move mountains. Maybe we should be praying for the faith we need to climb the mountains we encounter, faith to descend those valleys we inevitably must cross, and faith to walk humbly on the plains.
Generous God, give me faith to face every situation that comes my way. Amen. —