Tactile Faith

The scripture passage that has intrigued me the most lately is John’s account of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus in the eleventh chapter of his gospel. Instead of asking His Father to revive Lazarus, Jesus thanked God for having already done so.

This detail struck a chord with me because of the manner in which I know that I pray most often. During a typical prayer, I will ask God to help this, protect that, forgive me, bless her, etc. But, how often have I actually thanked God in advance, in faith, as if my prayer had already been answered?

One of the few circumstances in which I have definitely felt the assurance of sincere faith involves the prayer that my family and I pray together when we are preparing to depart on a long road trip. During such times I, most often, will pray for God’s protection to keep the driver awake, alert, and the family safe as we travel. Then, I follow up with the sincere statement that we trust in his protection.

At the moment that my proclamation of our trust exits my mouth, I feel, with all sincerity, that we will be protected.

Now, I need to kneel and sincerely seek his guidance and direction in the same manner and trust that he will provide what I need to live for him in all circumstances.

“So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” – John 11:41-42