Matthew 21:18-22
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Reflection
Jesus’ teaching about faith and prayer in Matthew 17:14–20 helps us understand what he is saying here. In that passage, he emphasized that God’s kingdom purposes are accomplished by his power alone, not by the power or intensity of the believer.
Therefore, when Jesus speaks of faith here, he is not telling us to trust in the power of faith itself. He is telling us to trust in the God who moves powerfully to accomplish his purposes. To explain God’s power, he uses an exaggerated illustration (this technique is called hyperbole) of commanding a mountain to throw itself into the sea (for other examples of how Jesus used hyperbole in his teaching, see Matt. 7:5; 17:20; 19:24; 23:15; Luke 14:26).
Believers who pray for the things that will advance God’s merciful and saving purposes should also pray boldly. They should have faith that God will either do what they ask or will work in some other way to accomplish his purposes more perfectly (cf. 1 John 5:14–15).
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Reflection
The Corinthians have an infatuation with worldly wisdom and power, which has led to a decreased appreciation of the gospel message (1:18–2:5). The gospel is foolish from the world’s perspective (1:18), but from God’s perspective it contains the “secret and hidden wisdom of God” (2:7). Only those who are under the influence of the Holy Spirit are able to see the wisdom that is revealed through the gospel (vv. 10–12); those who are “natural” (lacking the indwelling Spirit) will reject it (v. 14).
The Corinthians are acting like people who do not have the Spirit of God in their lives. Rather than accepting the gospel as God’s wisdom, they are treating the message in the same way as “natural” people. If they want to be truly “spiritual” people, therefore, they must adjust their perspective. They must view the gospel with the insight of the Holy Spirit, who reveals that the crucified Christ is not folly; he is the “Lord of glory” (v. 8).
Psalm 69:13
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
Remember that God is the key to powerful prayer, not self-manufactured emotional intensity. Faith is confident in the power of God, the wisdom of God, the love of God, the timing of God, and the Word of God.