Effective Faith

So many of the miracles and major turning points in the Book of Acts happened at set times of prayer, as practiced by the Jews and the Early Church. We are more likely to experience extraordinary times with God when we prioritize ordinary times with God! These times, approached correctly, will NOT be restrictive. But, if we are just going through the motions, they will be ineffective. How can we engage with prayer and effective faith?

²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” ²² “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  Mark 11:20–24 (NIV)

Have Faith in God (v. 22)

Faith in God is foundational. It’s not faith in yourself. It’s not even faith in the power of prayer as a foundation. We should have faith in the power of prayer. We should believe that what we say will happen, Jesus says. But the foundation can’t be anything but God. Prayer is an expression of faith in God. It’s talking to God. It’s learning to love God, as we have been discussing. But it’s also a matter of faith–of expectation–for God to do something. It’s not just a matter of putting in our one time a day, or three times a day. It’s also a matter of expecting prayer to make a difference, because we’re expecting God to do something.  

Speak to The Mountain (v. 23)

God wants us to speak out the words. God wants us to be engaged. This is not a “what will be will be” mentality. God wants to work through people. 

¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. James 5:17 (NIV)

Speaking to something, saying something, is one of several ways to pray. Peter told the crippled beggar, “In the name of Jesus, get up and walk.” We can’t always “decree” because we don’t always know God’s will for sure. But if we never decree anything, if we never speak to a mountain, I would suggest we get more rooted in the knowledge of God’s will, which is another sermon. God’s will is something that we can know.  

Do Not Doubt (v. 23)

I like to say that God can handle our doubts. Sometimes we’re like the father of the boy who asked for the demon to be cast out of his son. Jesus said, in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” The man’s response was, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” I love that we don’t have to fake our faith and try to hide our hangups. But, neither do we want to just settle into our doubts.  

We don’t want to just get comfortable with doubting. We can’t get comfortable with doubt! When we are doubtful about something that Scripture clearly tells us that God wants to give us, we’re like a wave of the sea being tossed about by the wind, we are unstable in all our ways, and we can’t expect to receive from God (see James 1).  

“Does not doubt in their heart”: We sometimes talk about faith moving from our heads to our hearts. The same applies to doubt. It can infect our hearts.  

Don’t let circumstances lock you into doubt! In my first pastorate, I was hanging out with some Oklahoma farmers who were complaining about their crops during a hot, dry summer. One of the farmers said, “We need to pray for rain.” I think it’s safe to say that one of the other farmers totally missed the point of faith and prayer when he responded, “Ain’t no use praying; there ain’t a cloud in the sky.”  

We will all have doubts, but our goal should not be to stay in doubt! God responds to faith.