Understand Ones Own Prayer

Scripture: So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 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. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." Mark 11:22-24

Observation: The disciples are a little surprised to find the fig tree that Jesus cursed the prior day withered and dead 24 hours later. However, Jesus certainly is not, as he teaches that this is simply the result of faith. Jesus made a plea to the Lord with the faith that the Lord would do it, and it happened.

However, it is interesting to note that Jesus' prayer was NOT "please kill this tree." His prayer was "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again" (v14). The method by which this prayer was answered was not to simply prevent the tree from ever producing fruit, or by through some process over time ensuring no one ever picked fruit from this tree. No, God killed the tree immediately. This outcome surprised even the disciples who heard the prior day's declaration.

Application: In faith, I pray so often for ... very, very vague outcomes. I pray for "health" and "guidance" and "protection" and "wisdom" and "patience". I probably don't even understand what God's response to these kinds of prayers looks like. Certainly he answers them, but in what manner I don't even try to predict and therefore likely don't recognize.

Jesus' prayer about the fig tree produced an outcome that fulfilled the prayer. However, the disciples weren't quite expecting that. How often have my own prayers been fulfilled in an unexpected way and thus I didn't know they had been fulfilled? Would praying more specifically even change that, or is God so creative that his solutions would always baffle my problems?

I will pay attention to my prayers, and I will learn to wonder at the Lord's creativity in fulfilling them, for in faith I know he will.

Prayer: Lord, this day I pray for my friends who have a sudden and major health battle in their lives. I ask for total healing. Please give doctors wisdom and skill, and where they cannot act please intervene in power and remove the issue yourself. I desire to see joy, celebration, and a chance to enjoy more years on earth from this couple, as an outcome of this trial. Amen.