WHAT ARE YOU REALLY PUTTING YOUR FAITH IN?

Mark 11:20-26

²⁰ In the morning as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. ²¹ Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ I guarantee you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. ²⁴ So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in the sky may also forgive you your wrongdoings.” ^26[1]

faith in God

It is very easy to read this passage like an animist. It is tempting to believe that there is a power, a force called faith, that anyone can drum up for his own purposes just by wanting it enough. Teachers teach this kind of nonsense in the name of Christ, and it grieves him. That is not what Jesus was teaching. He had condemned that fig tree because that is what the Father in the sky wanted him to do. His faith was in God.

So, when Peter pointed out the result, Jesus responded with these important words: “Have faith in God.” The power behind every answered prayer is not our faith, it is our God. That is why lack of forgiveness can hinder our prayers. There is a sovereign God watching. He will not reward his disobedient child with a display of his power, no matter how many Bible verses that child spouts.

The animist believes in power words. He believes that certain words contain power in themselves, and that speaking them will get him what he wants. The Christian does not have any power words. Our faith is in God alone. The power in our lives comes from our relationship with God, and is a reflection on that relationship. When we pray, and the mountain moves, it is God the Holy Spirit who gets the credit. When we pray, and the mountain does not move, we look to God and our relationship with him for answers. We have renounced Satan’s shameful magic. Our faith is in God.

LORD, steel us to put our faith in you, and you alone.

[1] some manuscripts add ει δε υμεις ουκ αφιετε, ουδε ο πατηρ υμων ο εν τοις ουρανοις αφησει τα παραπτωματα υμων.