My Walk Through the Book of Matthew by Annette Godtland

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree (Matthew 21:20-22)

20And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"

21So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. 22And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

I have a tough time with this verse because there are so many things we ask in prayer that we do not seem to receive. We pray for someone’s illness to go away, we pray for something to go well, we pray for a burden to be lifted, and we often see our wishes not fulfilled. And here it says that if we pray for something as impossible as moving a mountain and we have faith and do not doubt, it will be done! Does that mean I do not have enough faith? Does that mean I have some doubts that get in the way?

Maybe that is part of it. No matter how much I firmly believe what Jesus tells us, I can’t imagine believing that I could pray that a mountain move and it would be cast into the sea just because I prayed for it. But a part of my reason for not believing strong enough is because I feel that I should pray that God’s will be done, not mine. No matter how much I want something, whether it be for someone’s illness to go away, for something to go well for me, for a burden to be lifted, or even a mountain to be moved, in the back of my mind is that those are only my will. I do not believe so strongly that my will be granted that it ought to override God’s will. But I do want to share my personal desires with God, and I believe He wants us to take our desires to Him. Who knows, maybe if I had such a strong faith and really believed, maybe I would be granted my desire just on that basis. I have no doubt that Jesus meant what He said here.

But a part of this verse that I tend to overlook, is that the disciples didn’t just ask how the fig tree withered away, they asked how it could happen so soon. Jesus answered that what you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. I think Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question is that what you ask in prayer doesn’t get added to some queue of God’s “to do” list where He prioritizes and figures out what to do first. He hears prayers immediately. He responds to prayer immediately.

Sometimes when I pray for something, I wonder why God isn’t answering me. But often times, I am looking for the response I want and I totally miss the response God gives me. It takes faith and a strong belief in order to recognize and accept the answer God gives for our prayers.

Do I have faith enough to move a mountain with prayer? I don’t think so, but I also know that strengthening my faith is something I need to work on. I don’t know that my faith is strong enough, but I do know that God hears all my prayers. He is listening. And His response is immediate.