I closed yesterday’s story about how God answered my prayer about moving a heavy chair from the garage to the deck with this verse:

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21.22, NIV)

That’s the second time Jesus said that to the disciples. Here’s the first:

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. 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 17.14 – 20, ESV)

“Nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17.20) “You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21.22) But we don’t ask…

“O faithless and twisted generation…how long do I have to put up with you!” This “encouraging word” was said to the disciples! Disciples whom Jesus diagnosed as having “little faith.” And it doesn’t take much faith. How much? Enough to ask. Because it’s not the size of our faith that counts but the size of the object of our faith. If I have enough faith to step onto an airplane, barring an accident, I’ll get where I’m going, not because of the size of my faith, but because of the airworthiness of the plane and the competence of the crew.

You have not because you ask not. (James 4.2)