Lukewarm Faith: Why our prayers aren’t answered…
When Jesus paid a visit to His hometown in Mark Chapter 6, we read that Jesus couldn’t perform many miracles there because of the people’s lack of faith. Let’s get one thing straight: Jesus could perform miracles there, but He chose not to. Why display Divine Power to a group of non-believers and doubters? Do we operate the same way?
Sometimes I pray for something I really really want, yet deep down I don’t believe it will happen. Seeds of doubt, confusion and disbelief cloud the truth. Maybe I’m feeling pretty good about myself because I remembered to pray. But, merely going through the motions is useless. Why would God show His magnificent power through me when my conviction is lukewarm? I would suggest this is the key to unleashing God’s unlimited power in our lives. Jesus said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains” (Matthew 17:20). Jesus couldn’t lie, and let’s not forget that God loves us and wants to demonstrate His power through us lesser-created beings. But we must do our part. We must believe it will happen before it happens.
Everything is possible for God. Everything. Rarely do we get immediate answers to prayer so we must be patient, and deliberate. Act as if the prayer has been answered already. And don’t give up. Mark Batterson has a quote I love, “If our prayers aren’t impossible for us, they are an insult to God.”
So, take a chance. Write down your most audacious prayers in a journal. Pray for them consciously, asking The Creator to accomplish them through you. Be patient and apply mustard seed-sized faith. Who knows, you might just move that mountain…
Written by John Harrell: The Rewritten One
