Let me start today’s faith conversation by sharing two amazing Scriptures. Both are direct quotes from Jesus:

Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:23-24

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

These are extraordinary passages. Jesus is clearly communicating the power of faith-filled prayer coupled with the sovereign power of almighty God. Here are two more Scriptures to inspire us regarding God’s power:

With God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

Nothing can thwart God’s plan. Job 42:2

Jesus didn’t use measured terms like “most of the time” or “if you have faith as big as a mountain” or “if you’ve been really good.” Quite to the contrary, Jesus says that even if you have little mustard-seed-sized-faith, you will receive exactly what you have asked for in prayer. Awesome!

So, let me ask you, has that been your lived experience? Have you found that every time you offer a faith-filled prayer you receive exactly what you have asked for? I humbly confess that I have not, and my guess is that you haven’t either.

What do we do with the distance that exists between what Jesus said and our lived experience? I refer to that distance as the disappointment gap. Some of us struggle with a big disappointment gap because we haven’t received what we have asked for in prayer.

I can tell you what many in the church world have said to me, “Tim, you just didn’t have enough faith.” They may mean well, but their words are hard to swallow. I don’t know what to say to them because I don’t know how to have more faith. I already believe that everything is possible with God. I have seen God work astonishing miracles. Some were miracles of healing and forgiveness in my own heart and mind, while others were physical manifestations of God’s power witnessed by me and others. Like Job, I believe whole-heartedly that nothing can thwart God’s plan.

Besides, Jesus didn’t demand great faith. He said our faith could be as small as a mustard seed. Sorry, but if my prayer didn’t result in the miracle I was seeking, my lack of faith wasn’t the problem. If it wasn’t my lack of faith, then why didn’t I receive what I prayed for? What’s the problem?

More often than not, our disappointment gap is created by our interpretation of the Word of God. In interpretation, context is important, and when it comes to the teachings of Jesus, context is vitally important.

So what is the context we must include when interpreting Jesus’ statements about receiving exactly what we have asked for in prayer?

I submit that we should consider the most important prayer Jesus ever taught, and the most difficult prayer Jesus ever prayed.

I would rank the Lord’s prayer as the most important prayer Jesus ever taught. Nearly every Christian has memorized the Lord’s Prayer, and it is the most recited prayer in all of Christendom. The prayer begins: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

I would rank Jesus’ prayer offered in the Garden of Gethsemane as the most difficult prayer Jesus ever prayed: My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. Matthew 26:42

In both cases, Jesus prioritized asking for God’s will to be done. That context being understood, we can be assured that when we pray for God’s will to be done, we will receive exactly what we have asked for. And yes, it only takes a tiny bit of faith, as small as a mustard seed, to be assured that God’s will is being done.

Some Christians argue that praying for God’s will to be done is a cop out, a way of making excuses for our lack of faith. Really? I wonder if those same Christians would be willing to say that Jesus was coping out in the Garden, or that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were coping out when they declared to King Nebuchadnezzar:

We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18

These three men knew that God’s will would be accomplished, and whether God’s will would save them from the furnace or allow them to be executed, they were certain that God’s will would be done. That’s faith – and faith gave them great courage.

Asking for and living in full surrender to God’s will is not a cop out. It is, in fact, the most courageous way to pray and live. Jesus proved that point, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego demonstrated that even men like us can be extraordinarily courageous when we surrender to and fully trust in God’s will.

My friend, in every prayer you offer, seek God’s will above everything else. Put your faith in his sovereign will and you will receive exactly what you have prayed for. Then, go live courageously as you watch his will unfold.