Pastor Bob DuPar
March 3, 2008

Journal Entry


Scripture

Leviticus 27:14-Numbers 1:54; Mark 11:1-25; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 10:23.

Observation

Well the lists of men from the 12 tribes who were counted for Israel’s army made for invigorating reading today! I guess they call it “Numbers” for a reason. It is pretty impressive that 603,550 men came together to register (Num. 1:46) – especially when you consider that they probably had family members with them. That’s a lot of people.

I found the pairing of Scripture passages quite humorous today, particularly Mark 11:23 with Psalm 46:2-3:

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (Jesus speaking)

“Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

We won’t fear we’ll just know that someone is testing out the power of prayer. Kind of reminds me of Bruce Almighty when Jim Carey is testing his miraculous powers in seemingly random ways with tragic consequences.

Application

I have room for growth in the area of praying without doubt. And, I guess the only way to overcome doubt is to regularly pray for “larger than life” things that only God can do. So, that when my prayers are answered, I gain confidence in God’s ability and grow in faith through first-hand experience and knowledge of God’s power. Most of what I pray for is too tame. I need to pray for more things that won’t happen unless God wills them to happen.

Prayer

“God, help me to have a vision for the extraordinary rather than the ordinary, for the impossible vs. the possible, for the supernatural rather than the natural. I can’t pray for what I don’t see. Help me to see through Your eyes.”