Someone I dearly love is a soldier stationed in Afghanistan right now, and I have no recourse other than to pray constantly for her safety with the belief that God will provide it. I don’t pray the same thing over and over again, doubting that God heard me the first time. I pray, and I believe.

In Matthew 17, Jesus finds His disciples with a man whose son has been having seizures since birth. The man tells Jesus that His disciples couldn’t heal the boy. In the gospels, Jesus gave the disciples full ability to heal and to perform miracles. The caveat was faith. Jesus heals the boy and the disciples ask why they couldn’t do it. Verse 20 says, “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.’”

We all have our mountains. He’s speaking in a parable here, as he often does. The tiny mustard seed branches into a large plant. The mountain is something huge; moving it doesn’t seem ascertainable in the least. In the context of our own problems, it becomes clear that Jesus is trying to explain that it’s not our own efforts that will change our circumstances, but our faith in God to do so.

In Mark 11:24, he clarifies: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Do not doubt in your heart. Don’t pray for something while doubting. When it comes to our everyday problems, God is big enough to handle them on His own. He doesn’t need our guidance — we need HIS. Pray, be specific, and be believing.

He will give us our daily bread every day, without fail.

 

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