Have you heard about the power of childlike faith? Have you ever faced a prayer need and wished you possessed the seemingly magical power of the faith of a child? Jesus said to come to God like a little child (Luke 18:17) and many can share testimonies of the amazing ways God has answered the simple prayers of children.
But God blesses the faith of adults too. In fact, just as there is childlike faith, there is what we might call “adultlike faith.”
If you struggle to pray with the pure believing faith of a child, perhaps you can pray with the faith of an adult who understands power, authority, and agency.
When you possess agency, you are the one making decisions. Children have less agency than their parents, but they do have agency, and it should increase daily. Parenting might be described as giving children a little more agency each day, while also teaching them how to handle it. A psychology paper[1] defines agency as being in the driver’s seat. Those with agency—those making their own decisions—do not feel as though things HAPPENED TO them, but instead, feel as if they are IN CHARGE.
Comedian Rafael Barbosa does a bit about his first apartment: “Man, I recently moved out from home for the first time ever. It’s a little apartment man, but honestly, it’s already gone to my head. Like, just saying I have my own place feels like I’m saying I’ve got stocks and bonds. I’ll be using technical terms when I walk into my friend’s house. I’m like ‘Yo, this place got square footage? Man, check your lease, man. Mine’s got square footage, Bro!” Barbosa goes on to joke about trying to pick up girls by carrying his lease around as a conversation starter. “I just let it hang out the pocket a little bit.”
What Barbosa is enjoying is the satisfaction of AGENCY. You feel it when you have money in your pocket. You feel it when you have a new job. Or when you get your first driver’s license or buy your first car.
But this is first-level agency. There’s more. Bosses exercise NEXT-LEVEL AGENCY.
Next-level agency is the power to direct the activities of OTHERS.
Bosses can direct employees to complete all sorts of tasks. And when you are the boss directing the actions of employees, those employees become (wait for it…) your AGENTS. The law says the boss is the “principal” and the “agent” acts on his behalf.
The Roman Centurion understood this. He was the officer-in-charge of 100 men. He knew all about agency. He controlled the lives of 100 soldiers. When his servant became paralyzed, Jesus said, “I will come and heal him” Matthew 8:7.
The Centurion objected. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.
[He could have said, “I am an AGENT, with AGENTS under me.”]
I say to this one ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this’ and he does it” Matthew 8:8-9. How did Jesus reply? “I have found no one in Israel with such great faith!” Matthew 8:10.
We encourage childlike faith, a faith without questions or doubts. But God also honors the grownup faith that can only come through years of experience in a world of authority and agency.
The faith of the Centurion might be described as “ADULT-LIKE FAITH.” The officer clearly has no doubts, skepticism, or questions. Anyone with doubt would have insisted on bringing Jesus to the house just in case. The Centurion has the un-doubting faith of a child. But he has more–he has the experience-driven faith of an adult who has spent years operating in a realm of agency. It is his “adultlike faith” that gives the centurion the confidence to encourage Jesus not to waste time traveling to the man’s house when He can simply say the words from where He stands.
This Gentile, this formerly idol-worshipping Roman, understands that when a principal speaks the command, the agents must obey. And Jesus has proven Himself to be able to speak to men, women, illness, weather–anything. When the LORD speaks, the UNIVERSE obeys. The centurion figured it out: Jesus is the LORD of the universe.
No wonder Jesus said He had not seen anyone in Israel with faith to match the centurion’s.
Lord, grant us the faith and trust of children. But as we grow, develop in us a mature understanding of power and agency. Give us the adult-faith of the centurion. Give hope to those who struggle with doubts and questions, knowing our faith will grow by experience, even the experience of agency in the seemingly unspiritual world of business.
ΑΩ
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