Cursing the Fig Tree: Jesus’ Secret for Effective Prayers
“The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and his disciples heard it. They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables, and the seats of those who sold the doves. He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple. He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers!” The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, he went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. Peter, remembering, said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.” Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:12-24 WEB)
The merchants selling in the temple are a picture of worldliness inside us who are the temple of God under Grace.
The reason why some problems (represented by the fruitless fig tree) remain in our lives is because the worldliness in us causes unbelief and prevents us from experiencing the fullness of God’s blessings.
What is the secret to driving out worldliness from us? We have to let Jesus enter our temple by hearing the Gospel about Him.
When we hear about Jesus, worldliness and unbelief are cast out from us and replaced with faith.
This faith gives us the ability to curse the problems in our lives so that they wither up by their roots—the root of the problem is a spiritual one which caused undesirable physical manifestations.
Confessing God’s promises is good, but when done with unbelief, it’s ineffective. The worldliness in our hearts must be driven out first through hearing about Jesus.
When worldliness is gone, your body will become a house of prayer. You don’t need to be forced or threatened to pray.
When you receive faith through hearing about Jesus, you will pray (talk to God)—it is a fruit of faith, not a burdensome obligation.
Faith is the secret to see the end of manifestations of sin and death in your life. Jesus affirmed this when Peter pointed out that the fig tree withered away.
Faith and doubt can’t exist at the same time. We don’t need big faith—we just need tiny faith like a grain of mustard seed, with the absence of doubt.
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:5-6 WEB)
These are the three steps to answered prayer as taught by Jesus: 1) speak what you want to see, 2) believe that what you spoke is happening and 3) you will have what you spoke and believed for.
If you haven’t received what you’re speaking and believing for, keep receiving Jesus into your temple so that worldliness is driven out and replaced by faith.
It’s not about how often, how loudly or eloquently you pray—it’s about whether you’re in faith or doubt.
Ultimately, it’s a journey of entering into faith. When you see the success you have with cursing the fig trees in your life, use those testimonies as faith-food to solve bigger problems too—causing mountains to be plucked up and thrown into the sea.
The Christian life is truly from faith to faith!
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