THE POWER OF BELIEVING GOD
MARK 11:22-24
MARK 11:22-24 NKJ
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Jesus had come out of Jerusalem and was going back to Bethany when He spotted a fig tree with leaves. This typically indicated a tree with figs. But when He got to the tree, there were no figs. Jesus, in response to this deceptive tree, said to the tree, "no one eat fruit from you ever again."
The next day on their way back into town, the disciples noticed the fig tree had dried up from the roots and withered away. They called this to Jesus' attention, and His response was profound.
He did not say, yep, I can do this because I am the Son of God. He said for them to have faith in God. Then He spoke a spiritual truth with far-reaching implications. If you say and don't doubt in your heart, but believe the words you say will be done, you will have whatever you say. This truth had to rock the disciples' world. They expected Jesus to do things like this, but not them. Jesus was teaching them a powerful principle regarding faith in God. And He continued by telling them to believe they were granted the answer when they prayed. We could spend a great amount of time looking at these three verses, but they all underscore the power of believing God.
APPLICATION:
These verses show us some very important principles of God's kingdom. Spiritual things are real and more powerful than temporary earthly things.
Our words matter a great deal. Joy and I grasped some of this truth early on in our marriage, and we did not speak negative things over our marriage and future. We fell way short in many areas, but we did not speak divorce or hate or lack of love. We eliminated a lot of negatives in our speaking, and it was a great help.
The last truth we learn about God's kingdom is that believing comes before having and feeling.
God's kingdom is higher and more developed than the way things operate here on earth. We must learn to operate down here in His higher ways. And those higher ways will always involve faith in Him, the power of believing God.
PRAYER:
Dear Father, teach me how to operate in Your higher ways of faith. I know I have so much to learn.