 |
A couple of issues were debated but the following questions were the ones which I feel, pertains to Christianity (and in some respect religion) in general:
- What is faith?
- How should faith affect our prayers in terms of requests to God?
- Is it possible to change God's mind?
- What is the purpose of prayer?
Alright. So let's tackle the first question. Hebrews 11:1 says:
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.".
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
In Matthew 15:21-28 It talks about the great faith of the Canaanite woman and how Jesus had granted her request. Throughout the book of Matthew alone, Jesus refers to how "little" your faith (Matthew 6:30, Matthew 8:26, Matthew 13:58, Matthew 14:31, Matthew 16:8) or how "great" your faith (Matthew 8:10, Matthew 9:2, Matthew 15:28, Matthew 21:21).
If you're not careful, one could conclude that the existence of faith in our lives has a direct impact on whether our prayer request are granted. The story of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1-8 is case and point. It may seem as if the more we pray, the more (or quicker) we can change God's mind towards what we want.
But to every coin there's a flip side. On one side you have faith and this perception that God just opens the tap wider depending on your faith in him and on other side you have DOUBT. Take for example Peter walking on water (Matthew 14). It's clear that his faith allowed to have a few steps on the water, but then gripped by fear, he started sinking. Then Jesus said “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”. This can backed quite clearly by James 1 that
"6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
But to every coin there's a flip side. On one side you have faith and this perception that God just opens the tap wider depending on your faith in him and on other side you have DOUBT. Take for example Peter walking on water (Matthew 14). It's clear that his faith allowed to have a few steps on the water, but then gripped by fear, he started sinking. Then Jesus said “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”. This can backed quite clearly by James 1 that
"6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
So the question beckons, does faith really really have an effect on God's hands in your life? Does he really way for us to pray before he can act? Can we, based on our level of faith, change our fate/future? Now we can go deeper with this question and talk about free will but that will take this conversation completely away from the context established here.
So let's try and look at a few more scriptures pertaining to how we should view our prayers to God.
So let's try and look at a few more scriptures pertaining to how we should view our prayers to God.
"14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4
"2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1John 5
There's obviously a lot more scriptures in line with this context. So it's clearly evident that when Jesus was telling us that we should have faith (confidence or assurance), it should not be based on the timeliness of the requests answered (where our all hope for change is buried) but rather of God's irrevocable truth, mercy and wisdom that he's able and willing to answer.
So I don't believe these scriptures contradict one another, I believe it's because we've been sold to the idea of having a form of control over our lives by using God as our medium. Instead our faith should be based on seeking God decisions in any of the request (in accordance to His will) we make and leaving it up to him.
So our understanding of God's character and desire (through bible study), will enhance our perception of where we should base our faith (confidence and assurance) on and how we should present our requests to Him.
Let me know what you think.
Comments
Post a Comment