He couldn’t do any miracles among them… And He was amazed at their unbelief.’ Mark 6:5-6 NLT
God answers prayer in a manner directly related to our level of faith. ‘According to your faith, be it unto you.’ (Matthew 9:29 KJV) Yet sometimes in spite of our doubts and human reasoning, He comes through for us anyway. The believers praying for Peter’s release from prison were amazed when he suddenly appeared on their doorstep (Acts 12). When Jesus returned to His home town and began to teach in the local synagogue, the people were amazed by His wisdom. Because He lacked formal education and credentials they wrote Him off as ‘just a carpenter’. (Mark 6:3 NLT) And the result? ‘Because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them.’ Question: How often does your unbelief tie God’s hands? The truth is: (a) sometimes our faith is so weak that we don’t expect Him to answer at all; (b) we fail to pray with confidence; (c) we don’t prepare ourselves for what He wants to do for us. You can’t ask God for forgiveness, then continue to live under condemnation over sins He has put under the blood. Or pray about your financial situation, then worry yourself sick about how He’s going to meet your needs. You can choose to live by your feelings, or in a way that reflects total trust in God. The Bible says, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He…is a rewarder.’ (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV) So you must exercise faith.
SoulFood: 2 Chron 7:12-16, Matt 6:5-15, Luke 18:1-8
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2014
