S111P8 – The other side of faith: knowing his will

Mk. 11:22-24

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.”

The boys were as close in age as they could be without being twins.  For years, it had been just the two of them and Mom.  She could not always be there, so she constantly reminded them that they had to look out for one another.  For the most part, the boys got along well.  However, there was one frequent bone of contention between the two of them.  The older boy always complained that the younger boy was spoiled because he got everything he wanted.  He was not completely incorrect, as their mother never denied his brother’s requests, but that was not because she spoiled the younger boy.  It was because she agreed that those things he requested indeed were good for him.

Some people take the words of Jesus here to mean that we can ask whatever we want, and we will get it as long as we believe that we will get it.  That interpretation of this passage is understandable, but that is not exactly what He was saying here.  We must remember that prayer is about calling forth the will of God and being in agreement with that will.  In order to do that, we must reach the point described in Romans 12 and first know the will of God.  When we know his will, then the things we request in faith certainly will come to pass because He will agree with them.  It is not about him giving us what we want.  It is about our knowing what He wants and simply asking him to deliver that.  We wait in faith that we have discerned and sought after that which will please the Lord. 

If we want to be good and faithful children to our Father in heaven, then we will want what He wants.  Faith will produce in us a desire for that which He desires.  It is all about getting to know him better.  If we trust him, then we understand that his will seeks only what is best for us.  Knowing that, we should have no problem putting aside our desires for his.  We might want what is good, but He knows what is best, and our faith can get us to the point where we know it as well.  That is available for us if we only seek it.  Father, increase not only our faith but also our spiritual discipline so that we can know and pray your good and perfect will for us.