Yet still we struggle. The promises are so plain, but the visible results seem less so. Experiences with prayer cause us to question, not the Lord Himself, but whether His promises apply to us. Were such great promises only for the apostles and their time—that unique period when the church began?
Matthew 17 and Mark 11 are in the context of special miracles, while Matthew 7 and John 15 and 16 are not. Yet they all make essentially the same promises about prayer. Besides, miracles usually teach truths that continue long after the miracle itself. For example, Jesus fed over 5,000 people, and in that context He stated, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48). Do we discount that truth because of its miraculous context? Do we fail to apply it, as if Jesus is not the bread of life for us? Of course not! Jesus performed the miracle to make the point for all people of all time.
Likewise, Jesus used His miracle on a fig tree to teach us all a lesson. Look again at Jesus’ choice of words.
Jesus answered them, “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” (Mark 11:22-23).
“Have faith in God”… was that meant just for those present then, or for us also? Jesus deliberately makes His promise about prayer to “whoever,” also translated as “anyone.” That sounds as if Jesus intends the lesson to apply to others beyond His immediate listeners. On top of that, we recognize that statements apply to more than the apostles when they are repeated to ordinary Christians in ordinary contexts. Next, we’ll consider two such passages of Scripture.