Real faith means stepping out before I know how it will turn out

In review of Mark 11:22 it says, “Jesus answered and said to them, have faith in God.”

Bottom Line:

Have faith in God for your needs, not your wants.

What this means to me:

I am reminded this morning to have faith in God for what I need and to not rely on myself or be focused on selfish motives.

Today's passage comes from Mark 11, where Jesus is telling the disciples that they can pray for anything. He tells them to have faith in God. For with your faith you can ask and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. When you are praying, first forgive anyone you may be holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you too.

The kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God's Kingdom. God can do the impossible. He will answer my prayers, but not as a result of my positive mental attitude. Other conditions must be met: 1) I must be a believer; 2) I must not hold a grudge against another; 3) I must not pray with selfish motives; 4) my request must be for the good of God's Kingdom. To pray effectively, I need faith in God, not faith in the object of my request. If I focus only on my request, I will be left with nothing if my request is refused.

Jesus, my example, prayed, "Everything is possible for you... Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." In my own life, my prayers are often motivated by my own interests and desires. I like the notion of hearing that I can have anything. But Jesus prayed with God's interests in mind. When I pray, I can express my desires, but I should want his will above mine. I need to be sure I'm keeping myself in check to be sure my prayers are focused on His interests and not mine.

What I’m learning is that God will not allow a storm unless He has a divine purpose for it. So regardless of what happens I need to put my trust in God’s faithfulness. He did not save me in the past, just to let me drown in a puddle. What God has done for me in the past, I can expect for the future. He never changes, and He has my very best in mind, wanting me and my soul to prosper.

Real faith means stepping out before I know how it will turn out. It means following God’s will for my life, not caring out my own plan and asking God to squeeze into it. It means I become quiet, listening, attentive... while God is doing the talking, the leading and the guiding.

I can delight myself in the Lord and tell Him the desires of my heart. He is available to not only meet but greatly exceed my wildest expectations. I just need to simply give Him the chance to intervene on my behalf.