“Not Even In Israel

Have I Found Such Faith”

After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Luke 7:1-10

The effectiveness of our prayers depends not on how much faith we have but on whether we even have faith. The centurion knew Jesus could heal his slave. The centurion acknowledged Jesus could heal the slave, at any time. The centurion did not ask Jesus to do his own way, but to do it in Jesus’ time.

Faith has been described as “trusting God’s heart and trusting God’s power.” Some prayers that seem to go unanswered are simply instances in which God has lovingly overruled our wishes. He knows that what we have asked for is not best. Or it may be that our timing is not His timing, or He has some far greater purpose in mind. When Jesus prayed to God, He asked that God’s will be done, not His own will.

Do we have the centurion’s great faith – a faith that trusts God to do His work, in His way?

God’s answers are wiser than our prayers.

Our Daily Bread – September 7, 2009