four
Two Conditions
T
Faith
he question of faith is crucial to all of Jesus’s teaching. But it is especially significant in this passage. Its significance is highlighted by the threefold repetition “have faith in God” (mark 11:22), “does not doubt . . . but believes” (11:23), and “whatever you ask . . . , believe that you have received it” (11:24). Clearly, faith is essential to answered prayer, but in precisely what way? And even more basic questions tug at us here: What is faith? How is it defined? How may we recognize it when we see it? Or must we simply wait to see if our prayers are answered and then draw our own conclusions? 25
