Great Expectations

Great Expectations

Read: Matthew 9:27-31

“According to your faith will it be done to you.”

Matthew 9:29

“The reason why we obtain no more in prayer is because we expect no more.”

—Richard Alleine

IN WORD Jesus speaks frequently of “great” faith. In one place, He could do no miracles because there was no faith there. He did not rebuke people who asked to have greater faith. Faith is apparently a very measurable thing.

But just because faith is measurable does not mean it is just a matter of quantity. It is also a matter of quality. Faith is qualified not only by its object, but by its appropriateness. The object of our faith is God—He is large enough to accomplish anything on behalf of those who believe in Him. But the appropriateness of our faith is another matter. We can trust in God’s ability without knowing anything of His ways. We can believe that He might meet our need without any understanding of whether He wants to. And our suspicion of Him at this point is often the flaw in our belief.

Expectant faith is not assuming that whatever we name we can claim. But neither is it simply a trust in His ability without any knowledge of His willingness. We know God can do great things on our behalf; we seldom believe that He will. Before Jesus ever asked the blind men in this story whether they believed He was able to heal them, they had already appealed to His willingness: “Have mercy on us,” they cried out (v. 27). They already knew what He was like, and they counted on His grace to be applied to them.

IN DEED We often tacitly acknowledge God’s omnipotence, His ability to intervene in our lives, even in very specific ways. But this is only half of faith. It has nothing to do with our expectations as long as it remains only a theological proposition. The other half of faith is understanding the mercy of God and His great willingness to intervene. This is what brings His glory from the realm of theology into the practicum of our lives. You want mercy and power? Expect mercy and power. And it will be done to you.