Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

‘If I only had more faith!’

How many times have those words reflected your heart-felt desire and sincere prayer?  If this is a request that you find flowing from your heart, then you are not alone at all. In fact, you’re in good company indeed!  For this is the very thing the Disciples of Jesus requested of Him.  The inspired record of this prayer is discovered in Luke 17:5–

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

On the surface, this would appear to be a most righteous prayer, one that Jesus would answer every time.  We would expect our Savior to be delighted to do such a thing for us, and especially for the Apostles.  But, as the story proceeds, to our utter surprise we see that Jesus does not answer their prayer.

After verse 5, we’d be justified to expect our Lord to say, ‘Yes!  I will indeed increase your faith!’  But as verse 6 shows us, Jesus says this instead:

“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Why would Jesus respond in this manner?  What do His words mean, and what do we learn here about our perceived need for ‘more’ faith?  Is asking for an increase in faith a legitimate request to make of our Lord?  Do we really need more faith?

As we prepare for Lord’s Day Worship, let’s consider this question in the light of what transpires in Luke 17:1-4. And let’s pray that our King will teach us what faith is, how it is measured, and what we are enabled to do as we trust in Him.