O Ye of Little or Lots of Faith?

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It is telling that “O ye of little faith” appears 4 times in the Gospels and “O thou of little faith appears 1 time. In each case Jesus was speaking to His own followers. The first 4 appearance are found in the Gospel of Matthew and the other one is found in Luke. Each time He used this phrase applies to areas of our own personal, daily lives as it did with His original twelve. Let’s take a peek at the context of each situation where our LORD used this term when speaking to His disciples. When speaking about provision and trusting God’s hand to provide, Jesus said:

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 6:30

When Christ and His twelve boarded a ship and were in the middle of the sea, a great storm arose His disciples feared and doubted that Jesus would rescue them from this peril. Jesus wondered why they were afraid.

“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26

When Peter joined Jesus in walking on the water and then began to sink, Jesus wondered at his lapse in trusting Him to save and sustain him.

“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:31

When 5,000 men, not including women and children, followed Christ to the desert to hear His Word, He suggested that those seeking souls be fed physical food. Christ’s disciples then doubted how that was possible because they brought no food with them out there. They doubted how they would feed that large multitude because they were limiting things to their own finite ability. They were not trusting the miraculous workings of God. Jesus wondered at their lack of faith. The Son of God wondered why they didn’t yet understand that He owns all and their lack of understanding that “with God ALL things are possible.” (Mark 10:25) To their unbelief, Jesus answered:

“Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?” Matthew 16:8

Finally, Jesus wondered at how the LORD God was doubted in the clothing and protecting His own children.

“If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Luke 12:28

A Nugget to Encourage Your Heart

Just as the twelve struggled with unbelief at times, so, some of us do at times. Perhaps Jesus has whispered to us at times, “O ye of little faith.” Take heart beloved, even the mighty prophet Elijah is said to have been “a man subject to like passions as we are.” Yet, do you recall the mighty miracles God used him to do? Wow! Remember how he challenged, defeated, and slayed the 450 false prophets on Mount Carmel? (1 Kings 8) If God could use Elijah, He can use us because it’s all about His divine power and He brings it through that one who learns to trust and have faith in Him, not self.

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ¹⁷Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:15-18

Trusting God Who is “A Very Present Help in Trouble”

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1

Our LORD taught us to “Have faith in God” and that nothing would be impossible to those who believe. Here are the words of the Savior:

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. ²³For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. ²⁴Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:22-24

As Christ taught on forgiveness, the disciples asked Jesus: “Increase our faith.” This reveals that such a prayer, from a sincere heart, is welcomed and answered by God.

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5

Of the Corinthians believers, Paul said: “when your faith is increased” and so we can know that faith or our capacity to trust God, can be increased (2 Corinthians 10:15).

Are you ready to simply ask our LORD to increase our faith?

“We need to persevere in the asking/seeking kind of faith in God — and not give up — no matter how rare that is in this day and age: ‘Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?'” Debbie Lord

Prayer: Heavenly Father, firstly, I admit and ask You to forgive my unbelief. Please forgive my selfishness and for having an evil heart of unbelief. Father, please bless this life to be truly crucified with Christ and filled with faith in Your love, provision, protection, and watch care over my life and the lives of all Your saints. I love You Father! I love You Jesus! Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit afresh and faith to believe to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

“Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” 1 John 5:10

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” 1 Peter 3:15

YOUR PRAYER: Holy Father, please sanctify my life unto Thee. Make me holy as You are holy. Please separate me and use me for Your eternal glory LORD Jesus. May Your life shine greater in and through this vessel dear LORD. I love You Jesus and right this instant commend, submit my spirit, my whole being into Thy holy hands. In Jesus’ name.

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The Daily Cross in Prayer [podcast]

Prayer is inseparably connected with knowing God (John 17:3).

(Excerpt from the book I Die Daily)

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalms 5:3

Let’s isolate and dismantle these words of God a bit. Under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David says to the LORD:

That He (God) would hear his (David’s) “voice”
That “in the morning” the Psalmist would arise and seek God in prayer
Deliberately “in the morning,” he would “direct” his prayer and praying to the LORD – “in the morning … I will look up”

From this passage, we see that David planned or scheduled, in an intentional and calculated fashion, to meet with the LORD every morning. The phrase “in the morning” appears twice in this inspired transmission of the Holy Ghost. The man whose heart panted after the LORD – to behold His precious beauty – declared that he would “direct” (point) his prayer upward to the LORD “in the morning.” (Ps. 5:3; 27:4; Acts 13:22) Communing with the LORD was priority to David, and therefore occupied first place in his daily life. He sought the LORD firstly as he arose from sleep, and before he went forth into his day.

Jesus commanded that if any person will come after Him – truly follow Him – he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him (Luke. 9:23-24). There is no place that the cross applies more than in daily prayer. The moment one arises, he will choose either to seek God or dwell upon self-sentiments and such. He will seek Christ, or he will seek his own salvation or rescue from his troubles. We all make a “daily” choice:

“… choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

No different from those covenant saints the LORD spoke to in this important passage, those whom we dwell among are serving self – the flesh – and yet we are called upon by the LORD to “choose” to daily serve Him rather than self. We are called to “be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life.” (Phil. 2:15-16)

The LORD is calling us to purposefully declare Him as the LORD and Master of our lives, and this we do by making the premeditated decision to seek Him daily in prayer communion. Like Joshua, the way we “choose” to “serve” God must be premeditated, deliberate, daily, and in practicality. Daily, early morning, first fruit prayer is all three of these. It is the fruit of the crucified life – the life that is dead to self and in whom Christ dwells and reigns. – “Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3)

To those who seek God and not their own devices, there are many benefits (Ps. 68:19).

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

The precious peace of the “Prince of Peace” rules and reigns and makes sound the hearts of those who deny self’s ability to overcome and solve issues and problems, and instead earnestly and diligently rely upon God’s power to do such for them (Isa. 9:6; 26:3).

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26:3-4

As we fix our whole being upon Jesus Christ, our thoughts will be upward to His “glorious high throne,” which is “the place of our sanctuary.” (Jer. 17:12)

God is calling each of His saints to give his whole being to Christ, and to those things that “are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Php. 4:8).

So, according to Philippians 4:6-8, saints are to rely upon the LORD and not self by submitting all their requests in prayer to Him who is their Source, and to think upon those things of Christ which are “true … honest … just … pure … lovely … of good report … if there be any virtue … if there be any praise.” It is upon “these things” that we are instructed to “think on.” (Phil. 4:8)

God’s thoughts are infinitely higher than ours, and yet it is not until we become truly “crucified with Christ” that we are going to be ruled by His thoughts and peace (Isa. 55:8-9; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 4:6-7).

Changing the way one thinks is being done by millions of people who are not regenerated (not born again). New age and religious teachers hold this thought transformation teaching closely. Anyone can change the way they think for self-serving reasons – to stop smoking, to visualize and earn more money, to have more self-esteem, etc. However, hell still awaits all who are not born again, and that takes facing the living God and Judge in repentance for sin and placing all faith in Jesus Christ, the only Savior (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5). The only renewing of the mind and thoughts that brings glory to Jesus Christ, is that which begins with one casting his whole being upon the LORD afresh – presenting himself a “living sacrifice … unto God.” Let’s look at Romans 12:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

Those who are presenting their bodies to the LORD as “living sacrifice(s)” are infused and enabled by His grace to keep their minds or thoughts stayed (fixed) upon the LORD and not self, as they look for Jesus’ soon return (Col. 3:1-4). They trust Christ and not their own strength, reasoning, whims, philosophies, or wisdom. As they give themselves over to Christ and His infinite divine power, and become weak in self and self’s abilities, Jesus’ power raises them up to trust Him and rely upon Him alone – to rest the weight of their whole beings in Him who is able. They first declare that they are not able, and that only “God is able.” (Eph. 3:20; 2 Cor. 9:8) These are they who have and are finding out in a personal way that there really is nothing impossible with the LORD!

“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27

Abraham trusted God. He is our human example of a man who walked with God – by faith believing that God would raise up that to which he died. Concerning the promise of a son being born to him and his aged wife, the Bible records these words from the LORD to His servant Abraham:

“Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14

If God can and will split the Red Sea for His people, and cause a 100-year-old man and his 90-year-old wife to have a child, what in your life can’t He do? (Gen. 17:17)

Here’s yet another question posed to our hearts from the LORD:

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

God requires that we die to self-will, self-help, and self-esteem, and lay our lives in His holy, perfect, and more-than-sufficient hands. He can then work in us and in our lives – raising up His holy standard and power to glorify Himself in and through His children. Nothing will be impossible for the LORD to perform in the lives of those who deny themselves and, like Abraham, trust God to raise up His solutions, answers, and blessings to bring Himself glory.

“(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth (makes alive) the dead, and (God) calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Romans 4:17

God called forth Isaac out of Abraham’s loins when it was an otherwise impossibility in the natural. In your life, beloved, “Is there anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14)

Our connection with God is all about relationship, and the quality of that relationship is exemplified in our prayer lives – or lack thereof. If a person is pursuing the LORD, he has a prayer life. He lays down his own desires and life and seeks God’s life. This is perhaps in no other scrutiny seen more clearly than in the value he assigns to his prayer life, and the heart affections and time he is willing to invest in it.

In Psalms 63, the Psalmist captures the life of the person who truly has a heart after God.

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalms 63:1-8

The following is an excerpt from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers:

“’At that day ye shall ask in My name.’ John 16:26. We are too much given to thinking of the Cross as something we have to get through; we get through it only in order to get into it. The Cross stands for one thing only for us – a complete and entire and absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is nothing in which this identification is realized more than in prayer.

‘Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.’ Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with Our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God’s grace.

‘I say not that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you.’ Have you reached such an intimacy with God that the Lord Jesus Christ’s life of prayer is the only explanation of your life of prayer? Has Our Lord’s vicarious life become your vital life? ‘At that day’ you will be so identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to fix the blame on someone else. That is always a snare of Satan. You will find there is a reason which is a deep instruction to you, not to anyone else.”

PRAYER: Father, please bless this life to honor You and Your will first and foremost in this life You have granted, by my being authentically crucified with Christ. Please unite my heart to fear Your holy name and to number with wisdom this short time on this earth as a gift from You. I love You, Jesus, and thank You for dying for my sins and for the resurrection power of the Holy Ghost You placed in us upon salvation, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. You must increase but I must decrease. This moment, if never before, I declare and deliberately decide to place You first daily in my life – I am crucified with Christ. Early will I seek Thee. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Capture Points

Discuss Psalms 5:3 along with Mark 1:35 and the importance of daily and first fruits prayer in the life of every disciple of Jesus.
Transcribe onto an index card and discuss Romans 12:1-2 (KJB recommended).
Write out on an index card Mark 10:27: “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (KJB)

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