And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 21:17-22, KJV
This morning around four o’clock it started lightning and thundering. The thunder was so loud it woke me up and my bedroom was as light as if the sun were shining because of the constant lightning. I immediately prayed and asked God to please protect me. Within five minutes the lightning stopped and all was calm once again.
Do I think the lightning stopped because I prayed? No, I don’t. The lightning stopped because I trusted God to stop the lightning. I have found that every time I pray for a need that He provides it, but only if I trust Him and never doubt for even a minute that He will do it.
We read in the Bible: And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.Matthew 9: 27-29 If the two blind men had not believed that Jesus could make them see, they would not have had their eyesight restored. They believed Him and trusted Him that He would do as He said. O that we would be like these blind men and trust Jesus without doubting Him even for a minute!
Do I think that He will give us everything we ask for if we believe? No, I don’t because sometimes we ask for things that He knows are not good for us and sometimes they aren’t in His perfect will for our lives. The Bible also says “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3 Sometimes the things we ask for are not only not good for us, they displease Jesus.
If you have been praying for something for a long time and you think that He will never do it, stop doubting! Trust Jesus because what He says He will do. It is always safe to trust Jesus. How is your faith today? Do you believe Jesus will do what He says He will do or do you have doubts? Not only are our prayers not answered when we doubt, we hurt Jesus.