The Three Figs: Prayer, Belief, and Forgiveness
Have you ever heard of an object lesson?
If you’ve ever taught children — in school or in ministry — the chances are high that you have, or that you’ve at least done one without knowing.
If you haven’t, an object lesson is a teaching method that uses physical items or some other visual aid as the centerpiece of a lesson. Think of using a seed to teach about faith that grows or a piece of armor to explain the armor of God.
Or a fig tree to teach about prayer, belief, and forgiveness.
That’s exactly what Jesus does in Mark 11. But the disciples don’t get it at first. It takes a question from Peter (always the talker) for Jesus to explain the meaning of the withered fig tree. Here are three takeaways from what he says.
First: Nothing is too big for God.
In Mark 11:23, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
How often do we settle for praying small prayers? Prayers that hide behind insecurity at best, or doubt at worst.
Here, Jesus is raising the bar. He tells us to pray mountain-moving prayers. We have a big God that can do big things.
Second: We should pray with total belief in God.
“... believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Notice the past tense here? Once again, Jesus is raising the stakes (spot a theme?).
Our belief in God’s power should be so strong, so absolute, that we should consider our prayer answered as we pray for it. Wow!
How can Jesus say that? Because our confidence rests not in the strength of our belief, but in the God we believe in.
And our prayers should align with God’s will. A good key for interpreting this verse is 1 John 5:14:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Asking for a mansion and a million dollars? Perhaps you need to reconsider what Jesus was actually teaching through the fig tree and the temple cleansing that follows.
Asking for forgiveness or reconciliation? Even as you ask, Jesus says it’s already yours.
And last: Forgiveness is pivotal to prayer.
In Mark 11:25, Jesus ends His object lesson by commanding forgiveness.
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Isn’t it interesting how two of Jesus’ most extensive teachings on prayer — here and in the Lord’s Prayer — blend forgiveness in as such an important piece? Here, He even ties it to the Father’s forgiveness of our sins. If prayer is a recipe, forgiveness is one of the most integral ingredients.
And if we’re going to bear the kind of fruit that is pleasing in the Lord's eyes, forgiveness can’t be missing from our branch.
[Today's devotional was written by Compassion International.]