Do you Believe This?

I was talking with my fiancee last night and we were discussing the story of Lazarus when Jesus raises Him from the dead (John 11:1-43). If you aren't familiar with the story I'll summarize, because it's about forty verses. Mary's brother is sick and dies while Jesus is out of town. Jesus waits a few days until after Lazarus is dead and in the grave before he decides to go back and heal him. Martha meets him before he gets into to town. Here is the conversation that follows (vv. 21-27):

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Martha goes back into town and returns to escort Jesus to the tomb where he brings Lazarus up from the dead. All he said was "...Lazarus, come out..." (v. 43). Most of us would agree that this is pretty incredible that Jesus was able to bring someone back from the dead, but when we read the story, it doesn't affect us like it would if we were there, right?

Jesus is bringing people back to life every single day. He is reaching out through his people to heal those who have been hurt by abuse, their past, addictions, or simply a life they have tried to live without him. We aren't amazed by the miracles that God performs everyday and we aren't moved by what he has already done through his Son. I know that I get really excited when I see God do something in a youth that I'm working with or in a relationship, but sometimes when I read the scriptures I'm distanced emotionally from what is actually happening. I think many of us feel this way when we read about Jesus' life.

One reason I think we feel this way sometimes is that many of us don't feel that we have experienced or seen God work in such a miraculous way. We appreciate our interactions with people who are really nice or can pray out loud really well and we might say that God is really moving in that person, but our own pride makes us feel then that we are inadequate. We appreciate that person or that relationship, but we don't feel we could ever be in the place that they are with God. We start to compare ourselves to the person of faith rather than the One who is working in them. At the root of this issue and many other issues in the church is a hesitancy to earnestly seek God in prayer, but more importantly to believe that he is capable.

In the story of Lazarus, Jesus was present to Martha and Mary and the other Jews that witnessed the event. Although it may have been there, we don't read about any hesitancy in the sister's to seek out Jesus' help, but many around them, including themselves, seem to be upset that Jesus didn't come sooner. "If you had been here, my brother would not have died" (v.21).  I credit them in that they believed his presence would have brought healing, but they were beginning to doubt. It wasn't happening on their schedule.

Our culture is all about the immediate solution. What is the quickest and most efficient way to get the easiest reward. Our walk with Christ often ends up the same way. Instead of praying for a while about a decision, we will pray immediately before and judge the best course of action, hardly giving God time to respond. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus healing the sick and the lame and it sounds like He is doing great things and we wonder why he doesn't heal like that today. In many situations the people that Christ has healed are healed because of their faith. In their weakness, they believed that Christ could save them (Matt 9:22, 15:28; Mark 5:34, 10:52; Luke 8:48, 18:42). Jesus even heals a father's unbelief (Mark 9:24)!

Before I go much further, I want to make sure my point is clear. I am not saying that if you pray harder your friend, or your grandparent will come back to life, or if you prayed harder before they died, that it would not have happened. It's not only about physical healing and the amount of faith we have does not equate to God's ability to intercede. Jesus ministered to others through healing them and they responded by sharing what He had done with others. What I am trying to say is that we don't pray believing that God is capable and we often pray for what the best outcome will be for us.

Casting Crowns wrote a song a few years back called "What if His People Prayed?" I believe the church is praying today. We pray before meals and for God's blessing and for his will, but often times it is because that is what we are suppose to do. The Bible says pray so we pray. What if we prayed believing that God would come? What if we prayed for people we didn't know? What if we prayed with other denominations and worshiped with them to bring unity to his church? What if we prayed for healing without our own ?

If there is one prayer I believe God will always answer it's "draw me closer to you." God wants to be near us he wants to be in relationship with us. Any relationship requires consistent and honest communication. Our relationship with God is no different. We have to seek him out, believe that He is alive and moving in the world today, rejoice when he performs even the smallest miracles. When we give him the glory for all that we are given and dwell on the life that he gave for us, we will be overwhelmed by what He can do in us and through us, but we have to really believe that he can and he will. If we are praying with his will in mind and surrendering to his purposes, we may not get the answer we want, but we will know that God's hand is at work.