01/04/2022
When We ask Jesus for something, we find that if what we are asking of Him is trivial, or something we feel is possible, but perhaps unlikely, then we can easily hand it over to him, and our faith is sufficient to allow us to do that, but can we do this when a real miracle is needed, one in which there is no earthly way that what we are asking could ever occur? If the life of our child is in the balance, we pray, and Jesus says that our son, who is on his deathbed will be healed, can we trust in Him enough to walk away? Can we muster the faith it takes to believe that this will not be the last moment we will see our child? Miracles still occur; let’s listen to what happened in Capernaum.
“Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.”
John 4:50 ESV
This is the story of an official who’s son was dying, and there was no hope left, but just as it seemed all was lost, Jesus came into town. As a last ditch effort, the official goes to visit Him, and asks for that impossible miracle to be performed… “Come heal my son”. Jesus doesn’t hesitate, but tells the man that He will heal the boy, not because the man is a believer, but because if Jesus doesn’t heal him the father will not believe. This sounds so different from the prayers of someone who has professed their belief in Jesus Christ, but is it really?
“So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.””
John 4:48-49 ESV
Have we ever asked Jesus for something in the midst of our disbelief, or while feeling a waning of belief, and was our prayer answered? Have we faced a situation that we felt was impossible, and prayed even though we doubted? Is the official in this story all that different from Thomas when he needed to see in order to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, or from us as we pray in doubt? Well this man actually believed Jesus, and went on his way, but how do we deal with our prayers, and after talking with Jesus are we able to walk away trusting in Him? Perhaps we feel His wounds and believe like Thomas, or just maybe we get news that our son was healed. What does it take to make us believe?
“As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.”
John 4:51-53 ESV
It was the will of God that this man’s son be healed, and when our prayers are answered it is also because they were asked in accordance with God’s will. This healing was the second sign that Jesus did when He came to Galilee. The first was His encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, and it was there that he said these words…
“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
John 4:34 ESV
This affirms that Jesus was doing all of these things because they were God’s will. Do we ask for things in prayer that are in accordance with God’s will? Do we even seek out His will before we pray?
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:12-13 ESV
So, there is faith, and then there is God’s will (that is, in the name of Jesus), do we join them together in our prayers? Are they made to be one for us like we witnessed in the story of the official’s son?
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 ESV
The will of God is truly mysterious. His thoughts are so far above ours that they are beyond our ability to fathom without the understanding that is provided to us by the Holy Spirit… His plan is truly immense, and we are but a thread woven into it. Let’s let the Holy Spirit guide us in our wants, and prayers.
“And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Ezekiel 36:27 ESV
“Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”
Psalm 143:9-10 ESV
So there is answered prayer, that we fully expect to receive because it was asked in faith and in consideration of God’s will… then there are miracles, that occur in the midst of disbelief, and are meant to bring about our ability, or the ability of others, to believe. Seeing a son healed for someone who doesn’t believe is a miracle, and gives birth to their belief, but having a son healed because of a believer’s prayer is not, because they know it is God’s will to do so. For the believer, anything that God does, when answering prayer, is a promise He has kept, and, although it strengthens our faith, our belief already exists… His response to our prayer is the outcome of the joining of our faith with God’s will.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who taught us to pray, and your Holy Spirit that gives us the ability to understand your will for us. Lord, help us to pray as we should; not in doubt, desperation, or in accordance with our own will and desire, but in the full expectation that comes from our faith in you, and in the confidence received by praying for those thing’s that conform to your will… in the name of Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who hears our prayers, and answers them. Praised be your name for the miracles you perform that give rise to our belief in you, and for our prayers that are offered in accordance with your will, and sealed within our faith in you. You are merciful Father, and look to give us whatever we ask of you. Your grace abounds, and our answered prayers are not earned, but are gifts given to us because you love us. Cleanse us in the blood of Jesus, and hear our prayers as we lift them up as He did. Hear His voice when we speak, and answer us as you have answered Him. Cast us in His image, see us as worthy in Him, and announce us as your children. Embrace us Father, and call us your own as you welcome us home to eternity with you. This is our greatest prayer, and your greatest promise.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:6 ESV
Rich Forbes