326. DO YOU BELIEVE HE WILL DO IT?

(The Faith Forum Series – Batch 12)

In the Bible, James 1:5-8 states:

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

James was speaking here about wisdom and making a request or petition to God to get it. However, I believe, given that God does not change, that the principle can be applied to prayer requests in general.

That is, if you desire to have something or for something to be done and you decide to go to the Lord in prayer to ask for it, you should ask for it in faith or not at all. In other words, it makes no sense and will avail you nothing, if you make the request to God with your lips, while harbouring doubt in your mind, as to whether he can grant it or will grant it.

What I glean from this scripture is that if as a Christian, you decide to go to God in prayer over an issue to ask him to do anything, you must go believing, that (1) he is able to do it and (2) that he will do. It is not enough to go believing that he has the power to do what you have asked but to doubt that he will do it or to question whether he will do it, maybe because you know yourself to be so undeserving or because so much time has passed already without that thing coming to pass or because you have prayed for many weeks, months and even years for that thing and it has never manifested to date or because nobody around you really believes anymore that it will be done because they have waited for so long to see it happen and thus far, it never did.

No. You must come in simple trusting faith and believe that, irrespective of all the odds stacked up against you and that thing materializing, not only can he grant your prayer request but he will do it, in his own time, in his own way and according to his own purpose. Or else, why come to God in the first place to pray about the issue? It is insulting to God to come to him and to ask him for something, while doubting in your mind that he will do it or telling yourself that you are asking but you are not sure if he will grant it. I take from the scripture above that it is better not to come to God and to ask for that thing, if you are harbouring such doubtful thoughts in your heart and mind.

When you come to God in pray, come boldly to his throne of grace and confident that he will grant what you are about to ask him for. Of course, given that you are a Christian, what you are asking for should line up with the principles and rules set out in his Word, so that he can endorse or put his stamp of approval on it.

If for example, you ask for someone else’s husband, that is a sinful and ungodly request, borne from a heart of covetousness, envy, discontentment and immorality. It will not be granted because it goes against God’s Word which makes it clear that marriage is honourable, God hates divorce, we should not covet and that anybody who enters into a relationship with a person that is married or was married, commits adultery, both of which are sin. If you are asking such a request therefore that is so contrary to the mind and will of God, it indicates that although you call yourself a Christian, you most likely are not, as the request is evil.

Asking God to make you rich is also a misguided prayer because it goes against God’s Word which states, “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.” (Proverbs 23:4).

The desire to be rich is usually a selfish desire, one borne out of a desire for an enjoyment of the comforts of life and to be self-sufficient, instead of depending on God for daily sustenance. It is a fleshly desire that wants to be held in admiration by other people and to have high influence and prestige. In short, it is a fleshly desire which is not at all pleasing to God.

God reserves the right to give to his children as he sees fit. Some are poor, like Lazarus the beggar in Luke 16, the lady with the two mites in Mark 12:42-44 and the Church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-9 all were. Some are middle class and some are rich, all based on the Lord’s agenda and his divine plan.

Irrespective of his will for us as it pertains to how much or how little we will have, we as his servants must be content in whatsoever state he would have us. In Philippians 4:11-13, the apostle Paul understood this perfectly, him having experienced both having plenty and having little, all within the will of the sovereign God. He declared:

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Even where God decides to make a Christian rich, his Word says that that person is not to set his heart upon such riches. He makes it clear that what he wants is for people to be rich toward him, as we are reminded in the parable Jesus gave in Luke 12 of the rich man who God called a fool, along with any person that “layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (vs. 21).

Also, the Bible is clear that those that God allows to be rich, have greater accountability to him as stewards, for what he has given them and how they use it. It is be used for his honour and glory, not mainly for themselves. The Word of God states, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…” (Luke 12:48). 1 Timothy 6:17-19 also states, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.” On the whole, Psalm 62:10 states, “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them” which is a sobering principle for the Christian to operate by.

Professing believers should also ask their petition of God with the right motives. Some Christians ask for something that seems good and pure on the surface but God that searcheth and knoweth the hearts (Romans 8:27), knows that they are asking for a wicked, fleshly reason, like to compete with another Christian or to get revenge on them or to create strife or because in their pride, they want to get attention and to be admired by others. In short, they are walking in the flesh, not the spirit and therefore, their prayers are fleshly.

James 4:2-3 speaks of such prayers uttered by professing believers. James told them:

“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

In James 3:14-17, he told them:

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

When it comes to praying though, even if God chooses in his sovereignty not to grant a petition because of any reason, for example, you being deceived by your own selfish and prideful heart, have asked amiss or you have asked for something that, unknown to you, is outside of his will, this does not remove your obligation to ask in faith.

Moreso if the thing desired is good, honourable, pure and God-glorifying. If you have such a desire and decide to go to God in prayer about it to ask for it to be done, you better believe that (1) he can bring it to pass because he is God and is therefore all-powerful and (2) that he will do it.

If you don’t believe these two (2) things, if you are not absolutely convinced in your mind of them, then the principle derived from the scripture initially read above, suggests that it makes no sense for you to ask God for it. For, you have doubt in your mind and heart, you lack faith, there is unbelief and God is not pleased when this is the case.

As stated before, it is dishonouring to God when we ask for things while doubting whether he can grant them or will choose to grant them.

In Luke 11:5-13, it reads of what Jesus told his disciples after teaching them how to pray and of their need to be persistent while believing that God would grant them their request:

“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

In Matthew 21:22, Jesus told his disciples after explaining to them what faith without doubting could miraculously yield, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

In Genesis 18:14, God asked Abraham, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” This was a rhetorical question, meaning that God did not expect an answer. He was simply pointing out that he was the omnipotent one and could do all things, no matter the circumstance.

The question came after God told Abraham through three (3) men that he had sent and at a point where he and his wife Sarah were both old and well stricken in age, that Sarah would have a son. This was at a point where Sarah’s menstrual cycle had ceased! Given the reality of the situation that seemed certainly dead and too late, Sarah, who overheard what the men told Abraham her husband, laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” What she said to herself and her laugh were that of unbelief. After so many years of hoping and praying had passed and she had failed to conceive, she had clearly given up and let go of the dream, accepting that she would never birth a child.

Yet, God heard her laugh of unbelief and what she had said in her heart and he confronted Abraham about it. For, once God had purposed to do something, it mattered not what the reality of the situation looked like or was. He was able to change it and had promised to do so. At the time appointed therefore, the scriptures state that Sarah did have a son, just like God said he would give her. Genesis 21:2 states, “For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

In Jeremiah 32:27, God similarly declared, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”

Jeremiah the prophet knew this. He knew that absolutely nothing was too hard or difficult for God the sovereign Lord to do. In verse 17 of the same chapter, he stated, in contemplation of the awesomeness of God’s great power, “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee”.

Of God’s omnipotence, in Isaiah 59:1, Isaiah the prophet, speaking what God wanted him to say, declared to the people of God, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear”.

Hebrews 11:1 and 6 state though:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God MUST believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

God refuses to work when there is faithlessness, doubt and unbelief. In Matthew 13:58 for example, it says of Jesus when he visited his own country where he had had his upbringing, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

In Numbers 11, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, God told Moses that he would provide meat (flesh) for the people in abundance the very next day and that they would have enough to eat for a whole month. Moses, considering the large number of people that were in the wilderness and that there was no meat in sight, found this hard to believe, despite all the miracles that he had witnessed God work up to that point. In so doing, he limited the power of God. He knew first hand that God was powerful but it had not yet apparently registered that God was all-powerful. He knew that God could do great things like use him and a rod to do wonders in Egypt and part the sea so that the people could walk through to the other side and then overthrow the Egyptians their enemies who tried to follow them into the sea. However, he apparently thought that there were some things that not even God could bring to pass, due to the circumstances. In other words, some situations were so hopeless, that they were impossible and not even the God of heaven and earth could change them and within the short time period that he proposed to do so.

God had to therefore remind Moses of who he was. He was the almighty God! Of the conversation that God and Moses had, the scripture reads that God said to Moses:

“And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?”

In response, Moses, who found it difficult to wrap his mind around what God had said he would do because he could see no way how it could be done given the people’s numbers and that they were in the wilderness, at least not by the very next day, stated in verses 21 to 22:

^“The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?”

The Word of God states in verse 23, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.”

Indeed, although Moses could find no way to conceive how the Lord would work to bring about this thing and by the short timeline he had confidently given, it came to pass, just as God had said it would and by the very next day! It wasn’t Moses’ place to process how God would do it and within this short time period but to just believe God and the Word he had spoken, by faith in Him.

In fact, God provided the meat on the very same day that he had spoken to Moses, it seems! Moses had doubted that God could do so by the next day but he seems to have done so on the very same day he spoke to him! The people therefore spent that day and the next, gathering what God had provided as it was so much and just as he had declared, they had flesh to eat the next day.

Verses 31-32 states:

“And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.”

Moses did not appear to have been punished by God for him limiting what he could do, due to unbelief. However, there are other instances in the Bible where God punished people, including godly men, for not believing the Word that he caused to be spoken to them.

Zacharias for example, doubted that God could provide he and his wife with a child given that they were very old and his wife had been barren all of her life. Although there was a time that he had clearly prayed to God for a child, given that it never happened and that he and his wife were now very old in age, he did not believe the words of God as had been communicated to him by the angel sent by God, that he would have a child. He had long let go the dream, believing, due to how much time had passed and how old they now were that it was dead and buried. When he was told that God had heard his prayers though, after so many years of him having prayed them and giving up on what he had prayed for and that he was about to grant him his request, he did not believe. As a result, he was struck with dumbness, him being told that he would only be able to speak again when what he doubted actually came to pass.

In Luke 1:11-22 it reads:

“And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.”

As had been declared by God through an angel, Elizabeth did conceive, though she was very old and did bear a child. Once Zacharias had seen this with his own eyes and could therefore attest that God had indeed done exactly what he said he would do, his speech was restored. The angel had told him that the child would be called John but the people around Elizabeth, not knowing that this name had been handpicked by God before the child had even been conceived, did not think this name to be fitting. They therefore motioned to Zacharias who could not speak even up to that point, as to what he should be called. When Zacharias wrote the very name down because that is what God had told him through the angel, that he should be called, his dumbness was broken.

The scripture reads in verses 57-64:

“Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.”

No doubt, among other reasons, Zacharias would have praised God because he would have remembered how he doubted his Word but yet, look at what God had done! He would have praised him because although he had not believed God, God had been merciful and restored his speech, the timing in which he did so, clearly meant to serve as a reminder to him, to never doubt God again!

In 2 Kings 7:1-2, another man who doubted God’s Word, did not fare so well. His unbelief caused him his life.

In this scripture, Elisha, God’s prophet, speaking the words and will of God, announced to an earthly king that God would do something miraculous the very next day, by providing bountifully, although there was at present, a great famine in Samaria. A man who was there though and heard what Elisha had said, doubted that this could be done. To his mind, he could see no way that it could be done and the very next day! After all, they were presently facing a severe and grievous famine!

As a result of his unbelief, he was punished with the ultimate punishment. Elisha told him that he would see with his own eyes, the very thing that God had said would happen, come to pass but that he would not be able to partake of it, meaning that he would die.

The Bible reads:

“Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.”

Sure enough, God did exactly as he had purposed, using some leprous men in his plan. The man who had doubted, saw the sudden provision that the people of Samaria had access to but he was trodden by those who were running excitedly and most likely hungrily, to where the endless food had been discovered by the leprous men in some tents. The people who had brought the food there were the Syrians, enemies of God’s people. To bring about what he had purposed to do by the next day, the Word of God states in verse 6 that the Lord had made the Syrians who were staying in the tens, to hear a noise of chariots, horses and of a great host, so that they believed that the king of Israel had hired other kings to send people to help them win the war against the Syrians. They therefore ran away from their tents, leaving all of the food and everything behind.

When the food was discovered, the Word of God states:

“And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord. And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.”

On the importance of making requests to God in faith, that (1) he can grant the petition and that (2) he will grant it, in Mark 11:24, Jesus told his disciples, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

In 1 John 5:14-15, John therefore later reminded Christians, that we can have confidence, that once we ask the Lord for anything that is in keeping with his will, that he will hear us and we can be certain that we will be granted what we have asked him for, even before it happens. He declared:

^“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Hannah in the Old Testament, is a good example of someone who, after asking God for something, completely believed that (1) he was able to grant it and (2) that he would give it. After praying fervently to God about her issue, she then began to operate as if she knew that she had the petition of which she had desired of him, although it had not yet materialized.

Although she was bothered, grieved and crying before she had prayed this particular prayer to God, due to Peninnah’s persistent provocation, after she had poured out her heart to Him in faith, asking him for a baby and therefore to reverse her barrenness, she left the place that she had prayed completely calm, at peace and joyful.

She appeared to have believed that her prayer would be answered and favourably so and so she no longer walked around in mourning, although she did not yet have the baby she longed for. In her mind and by her faith, it was a done deal it seemed and so, all she needed to do now was wait on God’s perfect timing to work the miracle. In verse 7 of 1 Samuel 1, it says of Hannah, prior to her petition to God, that “year by year”, Peninnah, the second wife of her husband who was envious of her, “provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.” In verse 10, it says therefore that “she was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.”

What a marvellous change was wrought though, after she had prayed!

Eli the priest who had witnessed her praying, told her “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.” (vs. 17). Verse 18 states that she then “went her way and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.”

It is possible, given that Hannah was a godly woman, that he barrenness was a number of years long and that she had been provoked throughout those years by Peninnah, that she had prayed to God about the problem before and asked him for a child. However, this prayer that she prayed when she went up to the house of the Lord with her family, seems to have been different. For, although she was likely to have prayed in the past, making her petition known to God, she still got upset as time passed and she remained barren, while being ridiculed mercilessly by Peninnah about it. She was still grieved in heart, weeping and fretting herself over this evil woman.

It appears therefore that Hannah, if she had been asking God for a child before (which I believe she was), may have been asking and hoping but doubting that it would come to pass or wondering if God would grant it.

However, on this occasion when she poured out her heart to God in the house of the Lord, she prayed from the heart, fervently and passionately, believing that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. It appears that this time, she had faith that God would do as she had asked, nothing wavering. She was therefore able to walk away in peace, her countenance undergoing a complete transformation. For, she was no longer sad!

On the importance of believing that God is and that he is the rewarder of them who diligently seek his help, there is the account given of Lazarus in John 11:39-40. He had died four (4) days earlier because Jesus had not come to heal him while he was still alive, as his sisters had asked him to do. Yet, when Jesus did eventually arrive and was told that he had already died (which, as God the Son, he already knew), him knowing that whatever was left of Lazarus’ body which had been decaying in a cave secured by a stone, he nonetheless gave what seemed like a crazy instruction. He commanded that the stone be removed from Lazarus’ grave!

No wonder, Martha was quick to remind him that her brother had been dead for four (4) days! In other words, it was too late, Jesus had taken too long to come to heal him, he had died and so he could not at this stage, reverse what had already occurred. To her mind, it was obvious, that removing the stone at this point would avail nothing, other than to emit an unbearable stench.

Yet, Jesus said something even more shocking. He made reference to something that he had told Martha before about believing God, no matter what. For, God was the God of the resurrection and therefore, he could raise dead situations and people back to life, once he purposed to do so. Jesus was God and therefore, he had this power in him, to do what to man, seemed impossible to do.

The Word of God states:

“Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”

Once they had obeyed the Lord’s instruction, Jesus prayed to God the Father and then verses 43 to 45 state:

“And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”

That Jesus wants our faith to be at the point where we believe God to grant us our request even when the situation is clearly dead and therefore seems hopeless, was also apparent in Jesus’ dealings with Jairus.

In Mark 5:22-24 and 35-36, it reads:

“And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.”

On his way to Jairus’ home, Jesus stopped by the way to address an issue, where a lady, who clearly believed on him, had purposed by faith that if she could just get to touch the hem of his garment, despite the crowd, that she would be healed of a sickness that she had had for twelve (12) long years! Determined, she reached the point where Jesus was and touched his garment and immediately, the blood sickness that she had, was no more. She was instantly healed. Although she had not said a word, Jesus who knew all things, enquired as to who had touched him. In a place with many people around, his disciples found the question strange but he was asking who had touched him with that heart so full of faith, him referring to what the woman had done. When she confessed what she had done, he commended her for believing on him and that she would be healed of her condition, if she could only touch the hem of his clothing, her being convinced clearly that he was full of virtue and power. He told her that it was her faith that had made her whole.

Jairus would have seen all this and therefore, had more opportunity to believe in Jesus’ power. However, the Word of God states of Jesus, that:

“While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.”

Jesus was telling him, despite the news which seemed hopeless, for him to continue to believe that he could make a difference. Jairus clearly believed that Jesus had healing power, hence the reason he came to him. He must have heard of the healing miracles he had worked or seen something of it for himself. On that very day, as he and Jesus made their way through the crowd to get to his home, he had witnessed how the lady with the issue of blood had merely touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and had been healed, Jesus telling her that she had been made whole. However, Jesus was calling Jairus to go further. He wanted him to believe, not just that he could heal the sick but that he could raise the dead back to life!

He was therefore telling Jairus, no matter the situation and that all seems lost, hold on to your faith in me! The people around you clearly don’t believe that I can do anything at this stage because your daughter has died but do not cast off your faith in me. Continue to believe I am and a rewarder of those that diligently seek me. “For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The scriptures do not state what Jairus’ thought processes were at this time, him having heard the news which seemed like the situation was hopeless, countered by the words spoken by the Lord, which were declaring that there was still hope! However, it seems that in that moment, encouraged by Jesus’ words, he believed against all odds that Jesus would make everything alright. For, he did not tell Jesus to no longer bother and walk away from him. Something kept him at his side and perhaps, in that moment, although it seemed completely irrational and he was probably shocked at himself, he dared to still hold on to hope that Jesus would set all that had gone wrong, right again. If she had indeed died, as he had been told, that meant, as crazy as it sounded, that Jesus would bring his daughter back to life again!

Those who had come to his house told him to no longer bother to seek Jesus’ help anymore, as he (who they referred to as “the Master”), could do nothing anymore. Yet, Jesus wanted Jairus to believe him not as Master but as Lord and although it seemed illogical what Jesus was asking him to do, it seems that Jairus did just that: He held on to his faith in Jesus, despite the news. By faith, he ignored what was said and continued walking with the Lord to his house.

In verses 38 to 42, it reads of Jesus when they arrived at Jairus’ house:

“And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”

Similarly, in Ezekiel 37:1-3, Ezekiel made reference to a situation where, after he had viewed what seemed like an irreversibly hopeless situation, God, testing his faith, asked him if the situation could change.

Ezekiel stated of his experience:

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.”

I take the question that God asked, to mean, after all you have seen and can therefore acknowledge that the situation is truly bad, do you believe that there is still hope in me? Do you believe that I can still turn the situation around at this late stage or do you believe that it is too far gone, the bones are too dry and too many, for me to intervene to make a difference?

Ezekiel’s answer was one of faith. He believed that God could reverse the destitute situation that the Israelites, who the bones represented, had found themselves in because of their disobedience and rebellion.

After God told him to prophesy and he did, the Bible states in verses 11-14 of what God told him he was purposed to do, despite how dry, despairing and unalterable the situation seemed:

“Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.”

In conclusion, it is clear from God’s Word that, when it comes to God’s power and us placing our requests before him in prayer, we must do so by faith, believing (1) that he has the power to make the change requested and (2) that he will do it. It is displeasing, dishonouring and insulting to God when we pray, yet doubt that we will have what we have desired. It is also insulting and maybe even more so, when God tells us, based on earlier prayers, that he will grant us something that we had given up on ever happening and even forgotten about.

As human beings, although we have come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour and have seen him work in our lives and others, at times, even as was evident in the accounts of people we looked at earlier we tend to give in to doubt:

because of how long we have been stuck in the status quo of nothing ever changing in our situation, so that we have come to accept that the dream is dead; or
because of how long God is taking to grant our request or to honour a promise he made to us; or
because of what our present reality looks like, how far it is from what we desire and the extent of the miracle that would be required to change our circumstance; or
because we are getting down in age and our body and mind are weak and weary and we are running out of time or in some cases, consider ourselves to have passed that time; or
because of how quick God has indicated he would grant us something we have desired, when he has made a promise with a timeline in this regard and because we can’t possibly see how he will work to do this and in such a short time frame as he has declared; or
because of what people think, many of them having given us up for dead and no longer believing that what we desire will ever happen; or
because of how much and how long people have ridiculed us and laughed us to scorn in our sterile situation; or
because of how bad our past was, how many mistakes we have made and how undeserving we know we are;
because we start believing the lies of the devil over the Word of God, to the effect that God does not love us or has forgotten about us or does not care for us or that we are not special to him or that we are permanently out of favour with him and he will never grant us what our hearts desire, him delighting in keeping us deprived, humiliated, hurting and ashamed.

If you are a child of God and are serving him by faith in Jesus Christ though, none of these factors are reasons enough to doubt God if he has said to you that he will do something in your life or for you to pray with reservations in your heart as to whether he will grant you what you have prayed for. If you have prayed to ask for something, you must always believe that he is able and that he will grant your request, no matter what and if he has told you he will do something in your life, consider it a done deal.

Believing that God will grant you what you have prayed for and indeed, that you already have it, does not mean that you are ignoring God’s sovereignty. At the end of everything, he will do as he pleases, grant what he chooses to and withhold what he thinks is best. The reality is therefore, that some of our petitions will be met with a no by God, where, even if it is a good and honourable request and made with good motives, it is not aligned to his will for our lives.

However, it appears that when we come to him to ask that he grant us something, he does not want us to preoccupy our minds with whether the request, if good, is his will for our lives or not. Unless he has told us clearly that the thing our heart’s desire is not his will for us (as he did Moses when he kept asking him, after having disobeyed him, to allow him to enter into the Promised Land), he still wants us to come and ask, believing that he can do it and that he will. If it turns out that he has decided not to, as sometimes time will reveal, we should accept it and submit to his plan and purpose for our lives. When we go to him in prayer with a request though, we ought not to be thinking that he may not grant it or question if he will.

In my view, believing that God can grant what seems impossible and that he will do what we ask him to, does not mean that we cannot ask for his will instead of what we want or ask him for what we want but also for his will to overrule in the matter. I don’t see this as it having to be one or the other or a contradiction, although we are not to preoccupy our minds with trying to figure out if it is his will or not.

If we pray for something specific, believe that God will grant it. If we pray asking for his will in a matter, believe that God will honour it. If we pray asking for something specific but also let God know that we want whatever is his will over that thing that we want, I believe that God will grant whatever is his will, which may be the same as what we want or not.

If we want something but we want God’s will more than that thing, whether that means that he will grant us what we want or not, I think that this is a good and noble prayer to pray, maybe even more so than us asking him to grant us our heart’s desire. I do not believe that it is wrong or that God is displeased with this kind of prayer. For, we are not doubting that God can do what we want or that he will do it but rather, we are submitting our will to his, letting him know that we value and trust what he wants for us and his plan for our lives, more than what we want for ourselves.

In Luke 22:41-42 for example, Jesus prayed to God before he allowed himself to be taken by his enemies to be killed, asking for a way of escape to be provided for him out of the painful purpose of death for which he had come to earth. However, he placed this petition secondary to his desire to fulfill the will of God and so he also asked that God’s will override his.

The scripture states:

“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.”

This tells me that it is okay to pray in faith, asking God for what we would like him to do but asking him in that same prayer, that his will overrule, while not preoccupying our minds with worry as to what is his will in the matter and if he will not grant it because it may not be his will.

I believe that seeking the will of God over what we want is pleasing to God and is an expression of the faith that we have in his character, to will what is best for us, us not knowing at times, what that is.

(Written on 24^th July, 2025 and 1^st September, 2025)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Article to be interesting, informative, beneficial or edifying, you may also be interested in reading the following:

Note 82 – ‘Unbelief Cannot Come!’
Note 106 – ‘They Can Think Whatever They Like, God Will Do Whatever He Pleases’
Note 317 – ‘When The Dream Is Dead’