Faith, the size of WHAT?

Mark 5:34

He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace, free from your affliction.'

REB

I have read this verse many times in my life, not really realizing what it was saying other then this lady was healed. "....Daughter, YOUR faith has healed you." I thought it was through the power of the cross, the power of God Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ that healed us, but here it says "....Your FAITH has healed you"> I am confused. Who has the power to heal>? Is it God or our faith? Well, I think it is both. You see God's healing power is like a radio or TV or whatever wave, always present always in the air moving around waiting for someone to tap into it. You cannot hear a radio station unless you dial into the correct frequency. Our FAITH is the radio receiver, we have to dial into the correct frequency to receive what God wants to give us.

Have you, like me, ever prayed for something, but deep down in your heart, you really didn't believe the answer would be there? Years ago I had a VERY painful back problem. It hurt so bad, I could hardly do anything else. My ex-wife and I were working at the church at the time, cleaning after the morning service, picking up trash, spot vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms......in preparation for the night service we had at that time. ( We now have "Cell Groups" at peoples home all over Austin on Sunday evenings.) I was trying to organize the hymn books on a row of pews and the pain was so sharp I just sit down and started to cry. Mary, my ex-wife noticed a few of the pastors lingering in the Sanctuary and asked them to come and "lay hands on me". (Not suddenly, that would have hurt:)) Our then Choir Director, Ms. Kathy Stewart told Mary later, that as she prayed she felt that I would have to have surgery for this, that God was going to heal me that way. I went to the Doctor the next day and had surgery a few days later. I have not had a problem with my back since, and this was about 1998 or so. Why did God not heal me right there on the spot? I don't know God has His ways, But what if I did not have enough Faith for Him to complete the healing instantly? What if God was ready to heal me right there right then, but I could not, or would not believe Him for it? He, being the all knowing God He is, figured out another way for these prayers to be answered. Through surgery and a Doctors hands.

OUR faith is powerful, just as our lack of it is also powerful.

Matthew 17:20
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”

Look at what this scripture is saying. It does not say: "If God was powerful enough He could move this mountain., It doesn't say "you could ask for the army to use explosives and blow this mountain to kingdom come, if you had connections' It SAYS "IF YOU had FAITH even the size of a little bitty seed, YOU COULD SAY to this mountain...............and IT WOULD BE DONE"
God can and will do anything we ask for, BUT WE have to have the faith.

Why aren't our prayers always answered? Maybe it is because of OUR lack of faith. Many times, I think, God has to work around our lack of faith, and use other methods to answer our prayers, like with me and my "Bulging Disc" back problem of years ago. I believe there are two meanings to the Word "Mountain" in Matthew 17:20. It refers to our problems we face in this world, the Mountains that we must face, the problems, the disappointments , the depressions, the results of our sin...........But why can it not represent a REAL Mountain? I think it can, if that is in our way, then a Real Mountain is a mountain. Have you ever seen a real mountain just kinda move by itself? Of course not. Why not? Well, Have you ever prayed for it to happen? Of course not, that is ridiculous. Our God stopped the Sun from going down, He stopped a mighty river from flowing, He with the help of Moses' faith, made water flow from a rock. He lead the Children of Israel with a cloud by day and a long fire at night out of bondage. He can move a mountain if WE have the faith. The Power of God is there, more then we can imagine, but WE have to tap into it.

How do you vacuum your carpet? Well, with a vacuum cleaner of course, But what happens if you turn it on and nothing happens? Is it plugged in? It is an electric motor, it needs A/C Electricity. If you don't tap into the current that is in the plugs of your house, the Vacuum will NEVER work. We know that, don't we? An electric appliance needs to be plugged into the Source. Have you ever wondered if the lights were going to come on if you flicked the switch? Maybe if you haven't paid the "Light Bill" but other then that, we have FAITH that if we turn on something around the house, it will work. WHY? Because it has worked before, many, many times.

How many times has God NOT answered our prayers? What is His record? No, maybe He did not answer that prayer the way we thought He should of, but He did answer. The only prayers God has not answered are the ones He has not answered YET. GOD can and is willing to do anything for us, BUT He cannot unless we believe He will and is able.

Faith is powerful, strong, unlimited, and God wants us to have more of it. As our faith is rewarded by His miracles, we get more of it, just as exercising builds muscle, exercising our faith yields more faith. Our faith grows stronger because "He answered last time, why wouldn't He this time?"

God is willing, do we doubt HIM? OUR FAITH is what it is all about. Because of who God is, the rest is taken care of already, just have faith.