Hosanna Restoration Church

It really is important what we believe. We may be uncomfortable with considering what and how we believe, but God really is not concerned with us being comfortable with everything. He is our comforter, so if we bring things to Him He can provide the comfort.

We may prefer to look at the centurion incident as an isolated incident and move on to what we would consider real life, but if we do that we miss what God wanted to do in our lives. The fact is that Jesus was so impressed with the Kingdom principle that was revealed that He highlighted it with many words. He established the centurions understanding of authority as a monument to how faith works. It is a precedent to model by, and not just an incident to pass over briefly.

It is unfortunate that we often are more prepared for prayers not to be answered than we are to see them manifested in marvelous ways. I am always amazed at the lengths some will go to in order to convince people not to expect too much from God. Books are written to warn people about getting carried away with believing God and expecting too much. Long lists of reasons and examples of people who did not receive what they prayed for are added as evidence that we will probably be disappointed if we simply believe what God says.

At the same time, there are books written explaining why what we believe is important and how simple faith in God is all that is required to walk in victory. These books remind people that God cannot fail and give example after example of real life answers to prayer. These are backed by evidence right out of the Bible and the very words of Jesus.

So which side are we going to stand on? What do we prefer to believe? What we prefer really is important. In the New Living Translation of the bible it says, “Because you believed, it has happened.” Nothing would have happened if this man had not believed! He recognized the power and authority of God. He responded by believing and took action to go and request that Jesus heal his servant. He proceeded to give a reason why he was certain Jesus could simply say a word and it would be so. As a result, he received what he asked for.

So why is that we are more comfortable considering reasons why God might not care to answer our prayer. What if the centurion had approached Jesus saying, “I know you are pretty busy and you probably do not have time to even consider my request, but if you have a minute and it seems good to you I have servant who is sick. Ok. Well whatever you decide will be fine with me?” One thing is for certain, he would not have been praised for his great faith! Fortunately he knew authority when he saw it and expected it to work.

It is so simple and yet it is uncomfortable to accept the responsibility that God has given us. If we can believe, all things are possible to them that believe. So we can believe for what seems impossible, or we can be confident that only certain things are possible. What standard do we care to set for our lives and for the lives of those who our faith may or may not benefit.