MUSTARD SEEDS AND MULBERRY TREES

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:13-15).

If you are a follower of Jesus, and have a personal relationship with Him, at some point in your life, you prayed a powerful, life-changing prayer that has forever altered your spiritual condition. I remember prayerfully inviting Christ to enter my life. There was a transitional moment when I wavered between unbelief and complete faith that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He could and would forgive all of my sins and usher me into the unwavering hope of eternal life.  I had questions; maybe you did too: “Do I really have eternal life?” “Do I have enough faith?” “Did God really answer my prayer?”  John was assured that God always answers the repentant heart with a resounding, “Yes!” This truly is a “blessed assurance!” (Note: Wow – I was listening to instrumental piano on Pandora and just as I was writing the previous sentence, the hymn Blessed Assurance began to play. What an incredibly affirming moment of “Amen” from the One who loves us most)!

My moment of salvation was also the moment when my prayer life “officially” began. Oh, I had prayed before, but never with the knowledge that God was really listening. This foundational and formational moment in my spiritual life has birthed every faith-filled prayer from that point on. As I matured in faith, I was astonished to realize that Jesus, living in me, is also interceding for me, with me and through me! Pretty powerful realization!

If you ever have a lack of confidence in approaching God, remember back to that most important prayer of faith you prayed when you asked Jesus to be Your Lord and Savior. If you had enough faith to believe then, you most certainly have enough faith to believe that He will hear and answer now!  It is always in God’s will to receive our broken lives into His forever kingdom, and to forgive our sinfulness whenever our repentant hearts bow before Him. In this same way, Jesus said that even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed we can “…say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you” (Luke 17:5-6).

Are there some mulberry trees in your life right now that need to be planted in the sea? Do you feel that your faith is wavering to believe that God will respond when you ask? Pray as the apostles did: “Increase our (my) faith” (Luke 17:5)! The God who answered your first prayer of repentance is poised to hear and respond to your request for faith with a “Yes!” You can always have the confidence to know that the power of His Spirit resides within the faith-filled prayers of your everyday life.