5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. (Luke 17:5-6 KJV)
Increase Our Faith
We all need our faith strengthened because as faith grows, so do all other graces. The more we believe Christ’s teaching and trust His grace, the better we will be in every way.
The disciples asked Christ to strengthen their faith (Luke 17:5). Though they were apostles, they acknowledged their weak faith and turned to Christ for help: “Increase our faith.” Let our faith be clearer in understanding, stronger in desire, firmer in dependence, more committed in dedication, and more joyful in experience. We should all desire this and pray for it earnestly.
Some think they asked this in response to the challenging duty of forgiving repeatedly: “Lord, increase our faith, or we’ll never be able to do this.” Faith in God’s mercy helps us overcome the hardest obstacles to forgiveness. Others think they prayed this after failing in a miracle and being corrected by Christ (Matthew 17:16), so they now sought grace to grow.
Jesus assured them of faith’s power (Luke 17:6): “If you had faith like a mustard seed”—small in size but sharp and vigorous—you could do amazing things. Even seemingly impossible acts, like uprooting a tree and planting it in the sea, would be possible. See Matthew 17:20. With God nothing is impossible, and all things are possible to those who believe.