Isaac’s faith: sowing in an unfavourable context
Genesis 26: 12 « 12Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. » KJV
Isaac sowed in a dry land. To sow was to be stripped for seed is a grain which one does not keep for oneself; so when the grain is sown, without knowing what it will produce, it is a loss.
Isaac went from a nomadic shepherd to a sedentary farmer. Sowing for him was an unprecedented act, a bold act of faith in an unfavorable context of drought.
It is not said that God caused rain to come or that circumstances changed after Isaac had sown. It is probable that God granted a special favor to Isaac who prospered while his neighbors, in a similar context, were going through times of famine.
Obedience, faith, boldness and perseverance are all values that will give us, even in unfavourable contexts, abundant blessings from God.
A great faith: the Centurion’s faith
Matthew 8: 5-13 « 5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. » KJV
Jesus gave a qualification to the faith of the Roman centurion, that of «great»!
What is great faith? It is simply faith in the Word of God; it is believing God on Word.
God wants us to have the same faith as this Centurion, to trust in the authority of His Word.
When the Bible talks about “small” and “great” faith, it is not about quantity because we have all received a measure of faith. It is rather the quality of our faith, the difference between a faith that gives up (a “small” faith) and a faith that perseveres (a “great” faith).
Persevering in faith – The Canaanite woman’s example (Matthew 15:21-28)
Healing is part of the bread of the children of God which is discussed in verse 26:
Matthew 15:26 « 26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. » KJV
The daughter of this woman, who was tormented by the devil, was healed (verse 30).
Matthew 15:24 « 24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. » KJV
Was the Roman centurion, of whom we have spoken a little earlier, or the Canaanite woman one of the lost sheep of Israel? No. Yet both received the healing they had come to implore for their loved one, as a reward for their faith.
Jesus wanted to see how far this woman would go in her faith.
We must also insist on proclaiming what the Word of God says; persevere until we see the fulfillment of what we have asked of God.
The faith of God
Mark 11:22 « 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. » KJV
According to the Greek scholars, this verse should be given by: «Have the kind of faith of God».
It is this kind of faith, through the Word, that brought the world into being ! (Genesis 1). How God did ? He believed that what He said would come to pass. He spoke the Word and the earth was created. He called into existence, by faith, what was not yet: the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom, the heavens, the moon, the stars, and it was so. God believed that what He said would be fulfilled and it was.
The Lord does not expect us to have an answer to everything but He wants us to manifest faith. Let us no longer fix our eyes on our needs, but on God.
Mark 16:17-18 «17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. » KJV
For these two verses to become a reality in our life, we will have to move from faith IN Jesus to faith LIKE Jesus. We must have the faith of God.
God answers the prayer of faith
The answer to our prayers will always be subject to the sovereignty of God.
Prayer is not a means of forcing God to do everything we ask Him; rather, it is the means by which we will learn to listen to what God wants us to do, according to His will.
Faith is therefore not a means of «manipulating» God but of submitting to the orders that He wants to communicate to us. There is no faith without acceptance of the sovereignty of God.
James 1: 5-8 « 5If 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. 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. » KJV
These verses show us that it is not to prayer that God answers. Let the indecisive man, inconstant in all his ways, not imagine that he will receive something from the Lord ! These words may shock many…
God answers faith in prayer. Let us learn to ask with faith, without doubt and always on the basis of God’s will.
