Matthew 21:22, New Living Translation

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Are you in need of a breakthrough? What is required for a breakthrough to happen? Faith! Jesus said in Matthew 21:22 (NLT), “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Do we have faith that Jesus will go above and beyond our situation to bring breakthrough? Prior to this verse, Jesus curses a fig tree and tells it that nobody will ever eat fruit from it again. In doing a little bit of research, I have found that when Jesus cursed the fig tree, it was representative of the spiritual condition of Israel. You see, Jesus was coming to find people who believed, people who had faith. The Bible tells us, “The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.” (Psalm 14:2, NLT) Are we truly seeking the God of Israel? Do we truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is and does what He says He will do?

All throughout the gospels, there is evidence of faith and what faith can do.

Matthew 8:5-10 and 13 (NLT), “When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, ^‘Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.’ Jesus said, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the officer said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, “Go,” and they go, or “Come,” and they come. And if I say to my slaves, “Do this,” they do it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’… Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, ‘Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.’ And the young servant was healed that same hour.”

Matthew 9:2 (NLT), “Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.’”

Matthew 9:20-22 (NLT), “Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, ‘If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, ‘Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was healed at that moment.”

Matthew 9:27-29 (NLT), “After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe I can make you see?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they told him, ‘we do.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘Because of your faith, it will happen.’”

Luke 7:47-50 (NLT), “‘I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.’ Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The men at the table said among themselves, ‘Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?’ And Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”

When the Lord looks down from heaven, will He find faith? Will He find a people that submit it His authority, and believe with all their hearts that He is God, that He is their Healer, Provider, Savior? Will He find a people that truly believes in the finished work of the cross and the power of the blood that was shed for them? These words, these scriptures, they are not a fairytale or a story, they are history. They are real life events where Jesus radically changed lives. He took what seemingly looked impossible and made it possible! There is a scripture that says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, NLT) This tells me that the same Jesus that healed the Roman officer's servant, healed the paralyzed man, healed the blind, healed the woman with the issue of blood, and gave salvation to those who believed, can still heal today! He can still save that loved one who isn't saved. He can still provide for that need that seems like it will never be provided for. He can still take an impossible situation and turn it around for good! But will He find faith? It doesn't take much...Jesus told us, “‘You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’” (Matthew 17:20, NLT)

We are in a new year. In this new year, let us all bring our faith, our belief, and our eager expectation that God is moving! That the work is done! We will see breakthrough! Why will we see breakthrough? Because we serve the God of breakthrough! He who started a good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of redemption! I wouldn't expect anything else than the finished work of God in our lives!