Let us read from Mark 11:22-25, “And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” We know the context in which Jesus spoke these words – where Jesus cursed a fig tree that bore no fruit. In areas where we are defeated frequently, we can choose to have faith that God will work in us. In our spiritual life, we may have many big mountains that seem like it will never move. Let us ask for faith so that these big mountains can be moved. When we pray, we shouldn’t doubt and believe that overcoming these mountains is in God’s will. God can move these mountain-like situations in our lives. In Mark 10:27 we read that ‘All things are possible with God’. In Mark 9:23 we read ‘All things are possible to him who believes’. In the above verses we see a father with a humble dependence on Jesus and we see that Jesus saw his eagerness to remove his unbelief and healed his son. If there is a cry in our heart and ask God to remove our unbelief. In Mark 11 we see that the fig tree didn’t wither immediately when Jesus said but rather on the next day. We may also at times not get an immediate answer, but we need to wait with faith. God will bring it to pass.
In 2 Chronicles 20 we read of King Jehoshaphat. The Moabites and Ammonites came to war with the Israelites and King Jehoshaphat prayed to God. He sought the Lord’s face and proclaimed a fast through the land. The land was given to the Israelites as a possession and now the Moabites and Ammonites were coming to take away that possession from them. In verse 15 we read the Lord’s reply, “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s”. Let us take this promise as ours. We don’t have to struggle and fight with our own strength. Our God will fight our battles for us. God has given us an inheritance – to partake of his nature (Ephesians 1) and the Holy Spirit as a down payment. In our walk of life if the devil comes to take away this inheritance, we can come to God in faith. He will fight our battle for us. In verse 17 we read that God said to Jehoshaphat, “Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” The Israelites rose early and went to battle. We see an amazing thing in verse 22 that when the Israelites sang praises to God, there was a spirit of confusion among the Moabites and Ammonites and they fought against each other. Let us have faith and God will fight our battles for us and give us victory.
In 2 Kings 6 we read of when the King of Aram wanted to capture Elisha since he was warning the King of Israel so that the King of Aram couldn’t capture him. The King of Aram send horses and chariots and surrounded the city that Elisha was in. Elisha’s servant was scared but Elisha said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” God had protected Elisha and the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. We see how God miraculously saved Elisha. Elisha loved his enemies and gave them food and water. If we have an unforgiving attitude and pray to God, nothing is going to happen. Jesus taught us to forgive just as our Father has forgiven us. If we have anything against anyone, let us ask God to help us, let us confess our sins so that our prayers will reach the Father.
In John 6:28,29 we read, “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Faith is the most important thing needed to please God. God will reward all those who come to Him. In James 1:3,4 we read, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” There will be times when our faith is tested, but enduring through those trials will give a perfect result. We can ask God for any lack of wisdom and God will give generously. When we pray there shouldn’t be any doubt in our heart but rather have complete faith in God. In 1 John 3:23 we read a commandment that we believe in the name of Jesus and have love for one another. May God make this a reality in our life. In Ephesians 6 we read of the armor of God. Faith is compared as a shield that can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. We read recently that Russia has developed a device that can disable any weapon that is aimed at their country. It works as a shield for them, keeping the country safe. Similar is faith in our Christian life. In Ephesians 4:32 we are exhorted to forgive one another and be kind. Let us be tender hearted and have a heart of compassion.
God has shown us where we lack today. Let us ask God for help with faith. He will fight our battles for us!
