Praying in the waiting
David Moyes shares what he ’ s learning about mustard seed faith .
David Moyes is the Senior Pastor of Reedy Creek Baptist Church on the Gold Coast . He is also a member of Global Interaction ’ s
Board .
The story about Jesus healing the boy with the evil spirit teaches us the importance of faith and prayer .
In Mark and Matthew ’ s version of this story , Christ ’ s disciples asked why they couldn ’ t heal the boy when they tried earlier . In Mark ’ s account , Jesus told them of the importance of prayer ( Mark 9:29 ). In Matthew ’ s version , Jesus responded to the disciples ’ question this way : “ Because you have so little faith . Truly I tell you , if you have faith as small as a mustard seed , you can say to this mountain , ‘ Move from here to there ,’ and it will move . Nothing will be impossible for you ” ( Matthew 17:19-20 ).
I believe in the impacting combination of faith , prayer and the Holy Spirit . I ’ ve seen answers in my life and in other people ’ s lives . However , I ’ m praying for some big issues at the moment and , to my eyes , things don ’ t seem to be happening .
I say to my eyes for a reason . I always thought that when Jesus said that if I had faith as small as a mustard seed , all I need is some faith – however small that may be . That is probably right , but here ’ s another thought as to what Jesus might be saying .
A seed knows how to wait . To my eyes a seed looks lifeless . But most seeds wait for at least a year before they start to grow ; a cherry seed can wait for a hundred years with no problem .
What exactly each seed is waiting for is known only to that seed . Some unique trigger combination of temperature , moisture , light and other things is required to convince a seed to jump off the deep end and take its chance to germinate .
A seed is alive while it waits . Every acorn on the ground is just as alive as the 300 oak tree that towers over it .
Here ’ s the thing that I ’ m learning about having faith like a mustard seed . My faith in God , even if its small , is still alive . The Holy Spirit is still moving . Even when I go through those really challenging times where God seems silent , even the smallest amount of faith is still alive .
But here ’ s the other thing that I am learning about having faith like a mustard seed . I may have to wait until my faith germinates into something bigger than I have ever imagined . Sure , my prayers combined with the Holy Spirit may have given life to a seed , but it may mean I have to wait until God ’ s time is right .
If you study the great revivals in Wales , America , Korea , Papua New Guinea – they didn ’ t just happen with thousands coming to Christ , crime rates reducing , and so on . They all started with two or three people who prayed faithfully for 30 , 40 or 50 years . They prayed and prayed .
Did the seed for revival die ? No . It was very much alive . They couldn ’ t see it , so they waited and waited on God in faith and when the time was right , the alive seed germinated , and the power of God transformed lives after lives .
So my encouragement to you ? However small your faith may seem ... keep praying .
Pray with our Global Interaction teams . Subscribe to resources : www . globalinteraction . org . au / Pray
RESONATE ISSUE 38 | PAGE 5