Conversations abound. Have you ever counted the number of chit-chats that you have in a day? They can be verbal or texting. The number may amaze you. What were the results of these? How many of them would be pleasing to the Lord? Would ten percent of them even mention the Lord?
There was a Centurion, a Roman officer, who oversaw a hundred soldiers. He had a servant who was close to death. So, he sent word to Jesus, asking for help for this servant. Jesus was almost there when He received a message from the officer. The message said I am not worthy of You coming to my house. Just say the word and my dear servant friend will be healed. The Lord was surprised at the message! It was a shock that a Gentile man of such authority would not want the Lord to be insulted by coming to his house. The officer knew that one of authority like Jesus could send someone else to do the healing instead of Himself. The Messiah commented, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Matthew 8:10 NKJV).
There is another example of faith that deserves our attention. It is found in Mark 7:24-30. This scripture presents a Gentile woman asking Jesus for help regarding her demon-possessed daughter. The mother’s request was ignored by the Lord two times. The Messiah suggested it was not right for Him to heal a non-Jew. He was sent to bring Israel to repentance. Her reply was Lord, that is true, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall under the Jewish dinner table. This mother was asking for a healing crumb. The Lord’s response was “great is your faith, let it be to you as you desire” (Matthew 15:28 NKJV).
The above two illustrations show the great faith of two people who were not in the established religious crowd. Yet they believed Jesus could and would work in their lives. Both requests were not for themselves, but someone else.
Think about this for a moment. How many of our requests are for ourselves versus our requests for others. What makes their requests an example for Christians today? It was their faith. The kind of faith that trusts in the power of God.
Do we believe that God still performs miracles? Do we have the faith to believe in miracles or is that just idle talk? Maybe the question should be, is our Christian walk filled with answered prayers? If God isn’t answering our prayers, could it be that we need to get alone with Him and find out why? Our fellowship with God should be so real that it is noticeable to others.
