- What is the main message that Mark 11:22-24 and James 1:5-6 share in common?
- James describes a person of faith, and also a doubter who is “double-minded” (James 1:5-6). Which one do you tend to be? What steps can you take to develop greater trust?
- What does Mark 11’s picture of moving a mountain mean to you? Give an example of a “mountain” that you face.
- What is the main message that Mark 11:22-24 and 1 John 5:13-15 share in common?
- Is John’s wording (1 John 5:13-15) designed to grow confidence or to grow doubt?
- Discuss the two examples: a young woman considering marriage, and a man seeking employment. Share examples in your own life.
- What decisive action will you take now, as a result of this lesson?
EXTRA REFERENCES AND STUDY NOTES
Suppose that, for your own purposes, you want to look up other Scriptures related to this lesson. In that case, you may wish to start with Assurance and Providence along with the topics mentioned in the lessons, Jesus Shows Us That Prayer Should Be Sure 1 and Jesus Shows Us That Prayer Should Be Sure 2.
Assurance OT Trust and security in prayer Psalm 9:10; 13:5; 20:7-9; 21:7; 23:1-6; 26:12; 28:7-9; 32:6-7,10-11; 37:3-6; 52:8-9; 62:8; 71:5; 91:1-16; 121:1-8; 125:1-5; Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4; 41:10; 43:1-7; 63:16; Jeremiah 17:7-8. Examples “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” Isaiah 26:3-4. “A prayer of Habakkuk….Yet [despite disasters] I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places” Habakkuk 3:1,18-19. Appeal to divine history, promises 1 Kings 8:25; 2 Chronicles 17:25-27; 20:3-20; Psalm 44:1-4; Nehemiah 1:4-11; 9:1-38; Daniel 9:2-19. NT Reasons to be sure: Prayers through Christ the Mediator John 14:6,13-14; 15:5-6; 16:23,26; Romans 1:8; 5:11; 7:25; 16:27; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Philemon 1:6; Hebrews 9:15; 12:24; 13:21; 1 Peter 2:5; 4:11; Jude 1:25. Holy Spirit Romans 8:15,26-27; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 1:20. God’s nature John 15:7; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18,24; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Hebrews 4:16; 1 Peter 3:12; 1 John 5:14-16; Jude 1:24-25. Sovereignty Acts 4:24-26; Hope 1 Timothy 5:5; Philemon 1:22. Integrity, obedience John 15:7,16; Hebrews 13:18-19; 1 John 3:21-22. Faith, confession Matthew 17:20; 21:22; Mark 11:22-24; Ephesians 3:12-21; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8; 5:13-18. Like incense to God Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4. Certainty in requests to Jesus Matthew 8:1-9; 9:18; 15:21-28 cf. Mark 9:24. See Shared Praying (in the lesson – Jesus Shows Us That Prayer Should Be Secret, segment Thought Questions, Extra References and Notes) Matthew 18:19-20.
Providence If Jacob prayed for the safety of his favorite son, Joseph, he may have felt that God had failed to answer. All available evidence pointed to Joseph’s death Genesis 37:33. Sorrow burdened Jacob’s soul for years. From his limited perspective, Jacob had no way to see the larger picture. God was keeping the boy safe! Earlier prayers for the boy were being answered! In fact, God was going one better. As Joseph himself later explained to his guilty brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God” Genesis 45:7-8 cf. 50:20. In the same way, if Joseph prayed for freedom, answers often seemed negative. Yet God used every disadvantage to the ultimate advantage of Joseph and His chosen people. From our tiny peep-hole on the universe we sometimes wonder if God is still in control. Does He still care? Does He answer our prayers? We ask such questions because our vision is so limited. If we could glimpse the bigger picture, we would acknowledge with the comforted Jacob that God “has been my shepherd all my life long to this day” Genesis 48:15. That was toward the end of Jacob’s life. Do we have to wait so long? We experience set-backs, problems and trials. These need not cast doubt on God’s faithfulness. Rather, they test our faithfulness Deuteronomy 8:2, 16;13:3; 2 Chronicles 32:31; 1 Peter 4:12. When taken in faith, these tests become tools that purify and strengthen us James 1:2-3; 2 Peter 1:6-7; Romans 5:3-4. If, in our own Gethsemane, God seems to answer “No,” it is because God has far greater blessings in mind. Always, His purpose is “to do you good in the end” Deuteronomy 8:16; cf. Deuteronomy 6:24; 10:13; Romans 8:28.