Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” — Matt. 17:19–20

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” — Mark 9:28–29

Sometimes you come across something in the Bible that seems small and innocuous at first, but over time you realize what you thought was little is actually a lot bigger.  Jesus is really good at doing that when he is teaching us things.  In this case, the little thing I came across was a small difference in how Matthew and Mark relate the healing of an epileptic, demon-possessed boy.  This scene takes places immediately after the transfiguration of Jesus.  The disciples were not able to cast the demon out, and the Pharisees mocked them for it.  Jesus, of course, was able.  After Jesus and the disciples entered the privacy of the house they were staying in, they asked Jesus why they weren’t able to drive the demon out.  That’s where the difference in the stories comes in, as well as the revelation the Holy Spirit impressed upon me.

As you can see above, Jesus gives a different answer in Matthew compared to Mark.  But it’s not actually a different answer, and that’s the part that’s stuck with me for the past few days.  What did the disciples need to drive the demon out, more faith or more prayer?  Yes.  You see, faith and prayer are intrinsically linked together.  As William Hendriksen writes, “Where there is little faith, there is little prayer. Conversely, where there is an abundance of genuine, persevering faith, there is also fervent, unrelenting prayer.”  When our faith lags, our trust in God erodes.  If we aren’t trusting in God, then why would we pray, for is not prayer itself an act and expression of trust?  The more deeply I trust in God, the stronger my faith will be, the more constant will then be my prayers. 

It is hard, sometimes, to know how our walk with the Lord is going. If someone were to ask you, “how strong is your faith today?” how would you know what to say? It’s such a subjective question.  We can often think our faith in God is strong, when we aren’t actually trusting in Him very much at all.  However, being asked, “how is your prayer life going?” is much more concrete and objective.  As the Holy Spirit has needled at me about this, I’ve come to see a strong and direct correlation between my prayer life and my trust in God.  I encourage you to look at your prayer life as well.  Are you trusting in the Lord as much as you say or think you are?  Does your prayer life reflect that trust and faith?  There’s no time like right now to pray! 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. — 1 Th. 5:16–19

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison

 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’ 

— Genesis 16:13

The story of Abram, Sarai and Hagar in Genesis 16 isn’t one we talk about very often, and when we do, it’s usually to make the point that we shouldn’t rush God’s plans or the consequences that come when we take matters into our own hands (which are very valid applications of the story).  But if we only focus on that part of the story, we miss something beautiful that happens.

If you don’t remember the story, let me recap briefly:  God has promised the childless Abram and Sarai more descendants than there are stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5-6).  But they are very old (86, in fact – Genesis 16:16) and are getting past childbearing years.  So Sarai gives her servant Hagar to Abram (a culturally acceptable but very bad idea), and she becomes pregnant.  Shockingly, Hagar starts to get a little “uppity” with her mistress (Genesis 16:4).  Sarai starts abusing Hagar, so Hagar runs away, deciding it’s better to risk crossing the Sinai desert in order to go home to Egypt than stay.  Alone, pregnant, with little to no supplies, what must Hagar had been thinking and feeling during those hot days and cold nights?  The story doesn’t tell us. 

But this is what the story does tell us:  Hagar is an Egyptian and not a Hebrew.  She never once prays to God.  As far as we know, she has no faith in the Lord and the thought of appealing to the God of Abram never crosses her mind.  She doesn’t even appeal to the pagan gods of her ancestors.  And yet, “The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.” (Gen. 16:7)  The angel of the Lord tells her to go back and submit to Sarai, but then promises, basically, that the promises made to Abram for his son (who hasn’t yet been born or conceived) will be given to Hagar’s son’s descendants. Her response to this is the verse at the top of the article. Nothing has changed regarding her circumstances, but Hagar is filled with hope and praise.

Why?  Because now she knows that she has been seen by the Lord.  In the midst of her distress and fear, she realizes that she is not alone.  Where she has feared for her future, she realizes that God has been and will continue to look after her.  Let me emphasize this again: God does nothing to change her situation, in fact He sends her back to Sarai.  And it’s likely that Ishmael didn’t experience the promised blessings himself (Genesis 16:12), but his descendants would be princes!  “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Many times we feel the same as Hagar.  Lost in our afflictions, our sufferings, our struggles.  We are sure that God does not see or hear us in our distress, and we wonder if He even cares.  But if God saw Hagar, lost in the wilderness, then God sees you as well.  God is looking after you, even if you don’t see it.  And while your circumstances may not change (I pray they do!), His promises are still true and sure.  He is the God who sees, He is the One who looks after you.  Know that you are not alone or forsaken.  He is with you, even until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

— Romans 8:38–39

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matt. 7:7–8)

Last month, I wrote about how frustrating it can be when God doesn’t answer our prayers as quickly as we like.  This month, I’d like to remind us that more often than not, it’s actually the other way around — God is often answering our prayers before we even ask.  I’m writing this on Wednesday morning, as Hurricane Ian is about to make landfall in Florida as an almost category 5 hurricane.  By the time you read this, the storm will no longer exist as a named storm and the damage will be done.  Take a moment with me to go back to just a day or two before the hurricane’s landfall.

Yesterday, I was driving up the 29N Bypass to pick my daughter up from school, and I saw at least a dozen utility trucks heading south.  As you know, Rt. 29 isn’t really a major N/S artery in Virginia – that’s I-81 and I-95.  It struck me that if there were that many trucks passing our neck of the woods, how many more are on the interstates, also heading south?

Hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated Florida, which given the size and scope of this storm is a very wise decision.  But thousands will stay behind for a wide variety of reasons.  Given what Ian did to Cuba, and what Puerto Rico experienced last week, we need to be praying for God’s mercy and protection for those in the path of this storm.  This is going to be bad.  

But this is what I saw yesterday:  God was already answering those prayers.  He was already moving into place the people and  resources folks along the Gulf Coast are going to need to recover from this storm.  God was already in the process of answering prayers that had already been lifted up, and anticipating the prayers that were yet to come.  Thousands upon thousands were fleeing the storm, while hundreds were heading toward it.  Utility companies from around the country and disaster relief organizations were marshaling their resources and coming together, ready to spring to action the moment the storm passes.  

Our God is an awesome, and a very, very good, God.  I’m reminded of Psalm 18.  I don’t have the space to quote it here, so I encourage you to go read it.  As you do, keep this in mind:  When the storms of life (both literal and metaphorical) threaten God’s children and we cry out to Him, He springs to action on a storm of his own.  Amen, and amen again.

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison