"And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites."
Enos 1:11
It tells us here that Enos's faith "began to be unshaken" after Enos prayed for days for two other requests... and the first (for repentance) was granted "because of [his] faith in Christ" (verse 8). So, it seems clear that he had faith, but it wasn't necessarily unshaken during that first request. It makes complete sense, because we aren't going to have unshaken faith when we first start out talking to God and seeking repentance. It takes time and effort to get to that point.
As we learn to have unshaken faith, then "we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea" as Jacob 4:6 instructs us, although it also cautions us to remember our weaknesses, probably so we don't become prideful and lose that connection with the Lord that enables all of it. ... So many things are possible as we grow and learn and practice our faith in the Lord, and learn to walk with his Spirit. I think the central point here though is that we don't have to jump there immediately in order to be heard. The certainty comes as we practice and learn... and the Lord will still hear and answer our prayers and help us even if we are a little shaky at first, as long as we stick with it and continue seeking his help with diligence.
Today, let's work on our faith, but not expect it to be perfect before we engage with God and seek repentance. He wants to hear from us now. Let's remember the father in Mark 9:24 that wanted to believe in the miracle that he had asked, but wasn't 100%. He said to Christ "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." And the Lord did help him... as he will help us, even in our shakiness, if we turn to him and give what we have.
No comments:
Post a Comment