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Question: My husband and I disagree on a lot of spiritual things. I believe God's word is the first word and the last word. It is final authority. I am believing the Lord for help in our finances, but my pastor told me that God would not answer me until my husband and I agree. Mark 11:23,24 says whosoever will believe; and I am a whosoever. But my pastor said that there are some things that won't happen until my husband agrees with me. Please let me know what you think about this.

Answer: First of all, I want to commend you on your desire to get your finances in order and looking to the Bible and your pastor for guidance. But I must admit I was troubled by your initial statement. I wonder if it reflects a deeper issue of which the finances is just a symptom. Finances is an important issue since it is one of the major problems sited as a cause of marital disagreements.

I was wondering what you may mean when you are "believing God to help in the finances." If the problem is a result of sin or foolishness we can't expect help from God unless there is a repentance and change for the situation we are in. If it is due to circumstances beyond our control then we surely can look to God for help.

God's Word is our final authority, thus it is important that we know what it means. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 3:1-7, does address the holy attitude needed by a wife living with an unbelieving husband which would probably involve the extreme end of spousal disagreement on spiritual matters. Verse 7, especially, does seem to link hindrance of our prayers with improper martial relations.

As for the passage in Mark that you quote, I would invite you to consider the context of those verses. Peter has just seen the tree that Jesus had cursed the day before to be dried up from the roots. Of course, the speed and process of this is not natural. Peter was amazed. Jesus said to him, "Have faith in God" or this may be better understood as "Have the faith of God." The "whosoever" then is those who have faith in God or the faith of God. They can see supernatural things happen - but it will not be in their own power, for verse 24 says, "when you pray."

Therefore any supernatural acts that occur will be the result of God's power. Will God do actions that are against His values or will? No! Therefore the faith of God that can have great power is linked to the values and will of God. When we pray according to God's will and values, we can have confidence in His power to act.

I have too little information to help you with the personal issues involved, but I hope this commentary on the Scripture will guide you in the right direction.


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