Pray with Jesus, the Mountain Mover

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” … “Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”  Mark 11:22-25

Have you ever met anyone who claimed, “I’m perfectly satisfied with my prayer life”?  Unlikely.  Most of us struggle with discouragement sometimes and even sink into unbelief, as though prayer is like spinning a roulette wheel, hoping your Lucky 2s come up.  You pray for people and events, but it feels like you’re going through the motions with little assurance. 

Our Lord Jesus knows our weakness and teaches us to pray differently.  How?

           1.  Pray in communion with Christ, aligning your requests with his grand plan, and fine tuning them in concert with other believers.  That’s the key.  Consider Jesus’ solemn declaration, The one who says to this mountain “Be taken up and thrown into the sea….  Two observations help us grasp this astonishing claim.  First, casting mountains is about divine judgment;  when the angel of Revelation 8 sounded his trumpet, a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. [1] Second, pay attention to the pronouns.  He (singular) commands the mountain, and it will be done for him, that is, for Jesus Christ, the faith-filled One who fulfills his Messianic role of holy judgment against his enemies—and ours!

           “Oh, phew,” I might think.  “I’m off the hook.  It’s about Jesus, not me.”  Well, not quite, because in the next verse our Lord draws us right into his own work.  He changes the pronouns to plural.  Speaking to the disciples—and all believers since—the Lord declares, “Therefore (because of my judgment against sin, and rescuing sinners from it) I tell you (all), whatever you (all) ask in prayer, believe that you (all) have received it, and it will be yours—together!”   Pray with boldness.  Ask for important things, impossible things.  Ask specifically and in faith, together.  There’s a dynamism when the entire church labors in prayer.  Why?  Because we gain wisdom as a Body to apply his Word perceptively to the people and situations for which we pray.  The weight of this promise, and most other biblical teaching on prayer, falls upon the church throughout the ages, corporately. 

           2.  Pray with God’s Heart of Mercy to All Nations

           It’s no coincidence that our Lord’s teaching on prayer comes right after his judgment sign of cursing the fig tree and cleansing the Temple. God’s plan from the very beginning had a global horizon.  He announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”  The prophet Isaiah proclaims, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you, and nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  What a picture he paints!  Jerusalem shines resplendently with God’s reflected glory, and people from the surrounding nations leave their false gods behind them and stream toward the holy light. There in God’s City they gather to hear words of truth and grace about the One True God.  He even designed the Temple for that purpose, with the Court of the Gentiles set aside for such worshipers.

           With that backdrop, now reflect on what is happening on that first Palm Sunday:  At last, after centuries of waiting, the Messiah King enters the City and proceeds directly to the Temple.  What does he find there?  Thirty-five acres of money hustlers and corrupt religious leaders!  No room for any seekers after the truth.  The Son of God enters the House of God looking for fruit, but he finds none.  Only idolatry and false worship.  No wonder Jesus demonstrates holy wrath, overturns their tables, and brings business to a halt. 

           Judgment is about to fall upon this Temple [2]. By word and sign, Christ signals a massive transition in redemptive history, from Old Covenant to New Covenant, from old Israel to the New Israel made up of believers from every nation, tribe, and tongue.  Then our Lord bestows upon us the impossible task of building his Kingdom—along with a breathtaking promise of prayer to accomplish the impossible! 

           Oh…and one other thing.  Forgive.  Whenever you stand praying, forgive….  Yes, you’ll need that because mercy means grace toward sinners.  God demonstrated it supremely in Christ.  Now, by his power, so do we.

Let’s close with this picture:  Prayer is like paddling in a river.  You put your kayak into the still water by the bank, and then paddle farther out toward the middle.  Suddenly you hit the spot where the current is moving, and the kayak takes off down the river.  If you want your boat to move, take it out to where the current is moving.  And if you want your prayers to move, take them out to where God is moving.  The Father will exalt his Son. People from all nations, including the one you live in, will hear the Great News of a crucified and risen Savior, and worship him, and be transformed by him.  In such a strong current, you’ll struggle to stay upright.  It’s quite a ride!

                    Enjoy the Easter season!

[1] Revelation 8:8;  other Scriptures cited or alluded to are Mark 11:1-25, Galatians 3:8, Genesis 12:3, and Isaiah 60:1-3.

[2] The Temple and the City were destroyed by the Romans under Titus, in 70 A.D.