18/8/12
Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Matthew 17:19-20 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
O: These two passages appear to be describing the same incident.
In this year's 40-day fast leading up to Malaysia Day, the NECF (National Evangelical Christian Fellowship) in Malaysia has chosen the theme of Jubilee because it will be the 50th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia from Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.
On 16 August, the passage for our prayer & consideration was Matt 17:20.
I have been suffering from a pinched nerve which causes shoulder pain for a few weeks, and during the student fellowship's TGIF Friday prayers, I shared about this and student leader Michelle Foong prayed for my healing. Since I haven't yet been healed, she has been messaging me encouragement and also continuing to pray for me in following TGIF prayers.
This is in line with 14 August's NECF meditation "In Luke 24:49 the Lord asks us to tarry until there we are clothed with power from on high. Nothing happens when there is no power from on high. The secret to powerful and effective prayer is tarrying with God in prayer until…. . This is what we call tarrying prayers. In tarrying prayers, God sets the time needed to wait upon Him. We do not know how long it will take but if we tarry, God will show His agenda and prepare us for what is about to come. Then at His set time we will experience a great influx of His power and authority and will have the ability to speak to mountains to be cast into the sea because we have received the authority to do so."
Honestly, while I still intellectually believed that God can heal, over the years my faith has faltered. So God used this young lady Michelle to encourage me! I told her father this, and I would be proud to have my daughters grow up to be like Michelle.
A: God knows that our faith is not much sometimes. God nonetheless honoured the faith of that father who told Jesus, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" He had that little mustard seed of faith that God could use.
So, even when our faith is weak, trust God!
P: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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