“If You Can”

Mark 9:23, And Jesus said to him, ” ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

How many times have I prayed without faith? How many times have I prayed in doubt of God’s power? Too many times. Indeed, once is far too many. And how many times have I prayed according to my will and not God’s will? For only God’s will shall be done. Again, too many times. God promises His will to be done among His people, which we find in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). There, we find God’s affirmative “yes.”

Trust. It is a difficult practice. We can hardly trust one another; no wonder it is so difficult to trust God whom we have not seen. Yet He assures us of His presence in Word and Sacrament and in prayer.

I’m a planner; I like to know things ahead of time so I may plan a course of action. I have a mental itinerary for my life with a few blank spots. In many things, God does not let me know His plan, so I grow weary and impatient. Some would say, “Let go, let God.” To say this better: Let go and trust God. This is the daily practice of the Christian, one we shall never perfect, but one in which God shall never forsake.