“Cause whether you’re a farmer in the field, prayin’ for the rain
Or you curse Him at the gravesite, ‘cause He called a loved one’s name
You can thank Him, you can blame Him
Either way you’re going to face Him
Whether you believe in Him or not
‘Cause, in the end, everyone talks to God.”
- Aaron Lewis, Everybody Talks to God
“Tell me what a person’s prayers are, and I will soon tell you the state of their soul. Prayer is the spiritual pulse.”
- Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)
Not long ago I had the great privilege of gathering with a small group of folks in Brothers, Oregon on a Sunday afternoon. As part of a ministry that serves small rural churches I count every opportunity to gather with these dear friends a great blessing. The thing that struck me about this particular gathering was the degree of earnestness as they prayed together. The prayers were not sophisticated, perfunctory, or wordy; they were simple, straightforward, to the point, and serious. These folks were praying as if their lives depended upon it. I found myself listening, agreeing, and taking mental notes. The prayer-soaked topics ran the gamut…weather, friends in difficulty, wayward children, health, this year’s hay crop, thanks for recent mercies, and much more. These folks could teach me a thing or two about prayer. They were demonstrating in real time what it looked like to both give thanks to God and to implore Him for help. There are hundreds of well-attended and sophisticated high-church gatherings that could take a lesson from this small group of folks simply laying their burdens and gratitude before the Lord. I felt like I was on holy ground…like I was witnessing something otherworldly taking place.
The interesting thing is that Jesus takes the prayer life of His people very seriously. He eschews unengaged and perfunctory prayers (Mt. 15:8-9). He addresses prayers done for show (Mt. 6:5), and yet He commends simple prayers offered in simple trust. In fact, He encourages it. In plainspoken agrarian wisdom He uses an example of the lowly mustard seed. Here’s what He says in Matthew 17,
“…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
- Matthew 17:20
Jesus’ statement about simple trust follows the gospel narrative of a boy being possessed by a demon. Jesus’ disciples were powerless to do anything. I can just imagine Jesus’ disciples standing by and wringing their hands in the sight of this boy. The disciples were in no position to offer the least bit of help. Also understand, in this statement Jesus isn’t projecting that His disciples should engage in some sort of Middle Eastern topographical upheaval. He is making a point about trust and about Who He is. He is teaching them a lesson about engaging in a life of real-world discipleship. In other words, Jesus is looking for a relational reality with a completely new perspective that puts trust in Himself at ground zero. By casting out the demon Jesus is showing Himself for Who He is and what He’s come to do, and by the disciples’ connection and trust in Jesus they are in relationship with Him and a part of His grand mission in the world. In a demon-possessed boy He is bringing healing to the most severely oppressed. He has come to reverse the Curse. He is creation’s Lord and He is asserting Himself as such. He’s a King bringing about His kingdom one God-ward, faith-filled, and simple prayer at a time.
What Jesus is saying is that the lowly mustard seed is small and insignificant to the untrained eye, but even if the disciple’s faith is small…if they are connected to Jesus who has been given all power and authority (even the authority to heal a demon possessed boy!) they have every reason to believe that God will hear them and answer them when they ask.
Back to my friends that gather in Brothers, Oregon on Sunday afternoons…they seem to understand this parable. To ask any one of them they would readily admit that their own un-impressiveness, weakness and powerlessness is apparent. After all, they are less than ten folks that gather in a school off of Highway 20 in Central Oregon to study their Bibles, pray, and worship. As far as the rest of the world is concerned they are insignificant; they are non-existent. But what they do have is a bit of faith, perhaps even the size of a grain of mustard seed. When they pray mountains are being moved. When they pray they are uniting with the God-man that cast out demons from a young boy in a harrowing demonstration of Kingdom power. What they have is Jesus, and He’s really all that they need.
