"How To Move Mountains” Series

On Monday of the last week of our Lord’s life, Jesus went to Jerusalem with His disciples and cleansed the temple. On their way there, they’d come upon a fig tree. Seeing the tree was in leaf, Jesus went to see if it had any fruit. When He found nothing but leaves, He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

The next day, Tuesday, as they were again going to Jerusalem, Peter noticed the fig tree Jesus cursed the day before was withered from the roots. Instead of being like many today who wonder why Jesus would pronounce a curse on a fig tree, the disciples were simply intrigued by the power of God at work through the life of their Master. They were amazed to see the fig tree had withered so quickly.

Why did Jesus curse this fig tree? Mark says it wasn’t even the season for figs. Jesus knew He would find no figs on the tree even before He looked. So why did He curse the tree when He didn’t find fruit? Jesus used this tree for a grand purpose. Rather than using it to satisfy His hunger, He used it to enact a parable that declared a divine message.

The fig tree is often used in the Bible to speak of the nation of Israel. In cursing the fig tree, Jesus was dramatizing the fact that God had looked to Israel for fruit, but had found none. God had inspected Israel and, having found no fruit, decided He was going to pronounce His curse upon the nation. The prophet Micah spoke of this day.

“How miserable I am! I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger. The godly people have all disappeared.” - Micah 7:1-2a (NLT)

Because of their fruitlessness, God would forsake Israel and raise up a new people to represent Him in the earth - the church. Jesus knew that His disciples would be the leaders of the early church. He therefore sought to teach them how they could avoid the pattern of fruitlessness Israel had fallen into. Unlike Israel, who had turned the temple from a house of prayer into a den of thieves, the disciples needed to make prayer a priority in their lives and in the life of the church.

Jesus sought to teach His disciples that they need not be condemned for their fruitlessness as was Israel, but how, through prayer, they could experience the reality of the power of God in their lives, even as it was in the life of their Lord. Jesus later reaffirmed this truth on Thursday.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” - John 14:12-14 (NKJV)

Jesus made it clear: if we’re going to know God’s power in our midst, we must learn how to pray effectively. Jesus taught two lessons about prayer. First, He said that if we are going to pray effectively, we must:

1. Pray in faith - vs.22-24

A. Our faith must be in God alone - v.22

As we look to God alone, we base our prayers upon truth revealed in Scripture as taught by His Spirit.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” - John 15:7-8 (NIV)

As we place our faith in God alone, guided by His Word, we’ll be able to pray according to God’s will, and when we pray according to God’s will, we’ll see God move.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.” - 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

If we pray in this way, our prayers won’t reflect our desires, but God direction. Our prayers won’t be self-centered, but God centered.

Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God; and nothing lies within the will of God that is beyond the power of God!

We mustn't be afraid to pray by God’s guidance as informed from Scripture. Some think that praying according to God’s will results in small prayers; but that’s not true. We’ll pray bigger prayers than ever before, because we will be led to trust in our big God!