Matthew 21:18-22
18Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing 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.
20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.
21Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, 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. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Often times we tell ourselves we need to pray and ask the Lord to meet our needs, but we still take matters into our own hands. Maybe it’s just the mere thought of acknowledging we need to pray that alone satisfies us, but if we “have faith and do not doubt” Jesus tells us that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer.
It’s been very hard to pray these past couple of days, but I am grateful that God continues to provide for me even when I do not ask as I ought to. May we be able to pray to our God in full confidence that He not only hears our prayers but desires to give us what we ask for as long as we come to Him in faith.
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3 comments:
i was always taken back by the "image" of a tree that withered by the power of the spoken word... of course, it wasn't just anyone rebuking the tree...
thanks esther for your reflection... we ought to pray with more faith!
thanks for your reflection, esther. again Jesus reminds us that even though our faith is
so small, the OBJECT of our faith is the One who rules the world and has power over all things. that is why we could say to the mountain, "go, throw yourself into the sea", and it will be done.
i was actually struck by the first part of the passage when Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves. the leaves seem to indicate that the tree was full of fruit, but when He went over to the tree, He "found nothing on it except leaves". i read a sermon which stated that the fig tree symbolized the professing christian. the leaves were the outward deeds of faith. the fruit, however, were the true marks of genuine saving faith.
Jesus sees the leaves, the outward deeds of faith, and has every right to expect the fruit of genuine faith. too often when He comes to closely examine our lives, He finds only "leaves", no fruit.
Thank you, Esther, for your thoughts.
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