| Matthew 21:18-22 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Lord said clearly here that "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." It doesn't mean that we can pray for anything we want according to our own desire, and it will be accomplished. The "believe" in this passage doesn't mean that whatever we wish for or desire for, but it's an assurance from God. Hebrews 11:1 says that "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The assurance of faith should be established upon the foundation of God's word. Romans 10:17 says that "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." God's word is our foundation, so we need to first believe in the word of God. If we believe the word of God and we pray and plead according to God' word, then everything we pray for will be accomplished. As long as the foundation of our faith is in the word of God, God is faithful and He never lies, so His word will come true. In all the things that you are praying for today, you need to first receive the assurance of God's word. Once you have such assurance, you must believe that God's zeal will accomplish them for you. During the process, you should obviously ask God to help you deal with the sins hidden in your heart. If there are things that you cannot forgive others for, you need the Lord's help. If there's anyone you cannot forgive, God cannot forgive you either, and your relationship with God will be severed and you won't be able to understand His will. When we encounter any difficulties in getting prayers answered, we must ask that God's spirit to shine upon us to see what the hindrances are, and also ask God to remove those hindrances. May the Lord help us to experience how real He is through our daily prayer. Let us bear fruit in our life so that the Lord will be pleased with us. If you have any special needs in your life, or if you are searching for the way and answers, you must come before God and look upon Him by faith. Read God's word and stand on the foundation of God's word, and you will experience God's faithfulness and abundance. 
Lord, I thank you because you gave us such a precious promise - As long as we believe, we will receive. May the Lord help us to place your word deep down in our hearts. Let us experience your abundance and victory daily by faith. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
與劉彤牧師同心禱告
