Do you ever wonder if you have great faith? Have you ever had your faith tested and found yourself doubting what God can do or if He will act on your behalf? I believe every Christian should take time to examine their faith periodically. When I examine mine against what Jesus says in Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6, I realize mine is woefully weak. These are the passages where Jesus teaches that if we have faith as large a mustard seed we can move mountains and pluck up a tree and planted in the sea.
In Luke 17:5, we see the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith. They did not understand that miracle-making faith was not based on the amount, but the quality of their faith. It must be authentic. Jesus tells them it is not about the size. If they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could do great things. In verse 6 he expounds on this by giving that faith a size. In Luke 17:6 and Matthew 17:20, he tells them that it is the size of a mustard seed.
Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Luke 17:6 “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
In John 4:49-52, we see a nobleman whose son is dying. He had heard about the miracle of Jesus making the water into wine, and now this nobleman had a need, a great need, one that he could ask of no one else. His son was sick and dying, and he believed that if this man, Jesus, came to his house, his son would be healed. When he asks Jesus in verse 49 to come to his house Jesus tells him to go and his son will live. He obeys, but there is doubt even as he obeys. We know this from the response to his servants as they meet him on his way home. They are coming to tell him that his son is well. He asks when this happened, and suddenly he put “two and two together” and knew it was the exact time that Jesus had told him his son would live. His wavering, obedient faith had grown into a solid, unwavering faith. I can only imagine the transformation and joy this man must have felt as he drew closer to his house. There is no doubt in my mind that there was a celebration when he arrived. It would not be a celebration that was solely for the recovery of his son, but for the knowledge that he had found the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He himself was a nobleman which meant he was of royalty, now this king had met the true King and it changed his life and his family forever.
John 4:49-53 “The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was well. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.”
In Matthew 8: 5-10 we have another account of great faith. We have a Roman centurion who had a servant who was paralyzed, and he was suffering terribly. Jesus told the centurion he would come and heal him. The centurion replied that he was not worthy for Jesus to come to his home, but if Jesus would say the word, he knew his servant would be healed. Jesus replied that in all of Israel he had not seen a faith this great. This says a great deal about this man’s faith, as he was not a Jew. He had not been taught about the God of Israel, yet he believed with everything in him. His servant was healed because of the faith of his master.
Matthew 8:5-10 “When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”
In Matthew 9:20, we see a woman who had been sick and losing blood for 12 years. She heard that Jesus was in her town, and she did the unthinkable; she fought through the crowd and determined that if she could touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Her faith made her well after she touched Jesus. In verse 22, Jesus said, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.”
Throughout scripture, Jesus gives us examples to teach us how to act and respond to His teachings. Are you responding in faith? Do you really believe when you pray that God will answer? In Matthew 17, some of Jesus’ disciples came to Him and wanted to know why they could not do the healings and casting out demons like He did, and His answer was a lack of faith, but the harder things can only be done through prayer and fasting. What are you doing to increase your faith? Are you studying His word and obeying it? Are you praying more than ever before? If you answered yes to these questions and still have no results in your prayer life, maybe you need to put Matthew 17:21 into action. Jesus tells his disciples that some things come only through prayer and fasting.
Matthew 17:21 “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Take a moment to assess where you are in spending time with the Lord. Then you can answer how great your faith is.
