If we’re honest with ourselves, doubt is a common part of our faith journey. Have you ever wondered if God has been hearing the prayer you’ve been praying for ten years? Have you wondered whether God actually cares about your problems? Are you doubting whether prayer really works, God actively listens, or if your faith is true? Odds are, you’re not alone. Even when Jesus’ disciples met their resurrected Lord, Matthew 28:17 tells us, “Some doubted”!
Bestselling author and Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner’s new book, Faith Still Moves Mountains, is a great inspiration and encouragement for those of us who wrestle with these deep questions. Faulkner shares dramatic story after dramatic story that demonstrate God’s intervention in the world and His answers to prayer. From a prayer for rescue at sea that resulted in an unlikely rescue vehicle at just the right time; a prayer for healing that resulted in liberation from a years-long illness; and even a prayer of wonder about why God created a peanut, Faulkner weaves a tapestry of God at work in a myriad of ways. Prayer, she argues, still moves mountains.
I think Faulkner’s book is very helpful for both followers of Jesus and those who seek faith but aren’t sure what they believe about God. In particular, her ability as a gifted storyteller, combined with her extensive research as a newscaster, enable her to tell complex stories succinctly. For example, the book’s first story tells about two teenagers struggling to stay alive after a swim went wrong. They call out to God for help while a boat, not far away, was far off its intended path. Long after its departure and due to a host of mistakes, this boat was in the right place at just the right time—the boaters caught sight of the kids and rescued them. Oh, and by the way, the boat was named Amen. A little too strong to be a coincidence!
In an anthology of stories like these, Faulkner makes a compelling case that prayers do work, God does hear, and faith still matters. I think it’s helpful for those of us who struggle with doubt and wonder what God is up to; it’s pretty hard to argue against some of these amazing stories!
Now, you theologians and Bible scholars out there might have a few nits to pick. Faulkner is a woman of vibrant personal faith and orthodox beliefs. However, there are a few times when her wording is a little imprecise. For example, on the first page of her book Faulkner writes, “You are so loved that God created, sacrificed, and resurrected his only Son for you.” This sentence made my seminarian alarm bells go off. Our ancient creeds insist God did not create Jesus! As the Nicene Creed says, Jesus was begotten of God but not made. Clearly, though, Faulkner does not ascribe to this ancient heresy that Jesus was created by God and thus is a lower being than God. She is no heretic! Instead, I was very impressed with the robustness of her theology. Once in a while, I think her wording can be a little imprecise like this, but what she’s trying to say is usually quite clear.
Faulkner’s book won’t answer all our questions about prayer. For example, one woman tells of God’s answer to her prayer in saving her life from a shooting in Colorado, but she doesn’t claim to know why the woman next to her was killed. Some answers to prayer, or seeming non-answers, are left a mystery. But such is the case in the Bible, as well. Faulkner doesn’t try to provide answers we don’t have. She simply invites us to wonder about a God who answers prayer, moves mountains, hears His people, and invites us to press into that reality and trust Him with the rest.
I would recommend Faulkner’s book to any follower of Christ as well as to those on the fringes of faith. I think it’s a timeless reminder that we have a God who is more powerful than we know, more loving than we believe, and more involved than we realize.
by Pastor Steve Clark
