Yes and no. In Matthew 13 we find Jesus back in His hometown. The people had heard of the wonders He had done, but were skeptical. It is here Jesus said a prophet is not without honor except in his own house. Matthew goes on, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Clearly there is a connection between the unbelief of the people and Jesus not doing the miracles. Matthew says “because.”
What Matthew does not say was that Jesus was unable to do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. We might hear him saying such because it is not uncommon for Jesus to praise the faith of those He blessed with miracles. Or to rebuke those whose doubt troubled them. He promised that even a little faith, like a mustard seed, could enable one to move mountains (Matt. 13:20).
Our faith, however, is not the power of a given miracle. Rather it is the One in whom we have the faith that holds all power. Does Jesus have the power to move mountains? Of course He does. Not because He’s so full of faith but because He is God incarnate. Which means also that He had the power to perform whatever miracles He wished in His home town. It wasn’t that He couldn’t do the miracles, but that He wouldn’t.
Our calling is to faith. That faith, however, isn’t in the coming of the miracle but in the Creator of the miracle. How do we know this? Because, once again, of Jesus. If ever there was someone who needed to be delivered from great hardship and calamity, it was Jesus in the lead-up to His passion. His prayers, of course, could have no deficit of faith, for He is perfect. He asked His Father if the cup could pass.
Did the Father have the power to let the cup pass? Of course He did. But Jesus prayed, “Nevertheless not My will but Thine be done (Luke 22:42). All things being equal, Jesus asked that the cup pass. But all things were not equal. Jesus’ ultimate desire was that the will of the Father be done.
Which ought always to be our desire as well. When we pray for deliverance, our acknowledgment that He may not give it on this side of the veil isn’t a lack of faith but the very epitome of faith. It acknowledges our affirmation of His power to bring it to pass. Likewise it affirms our belief in His good intentions toward us. But it also declares our faith that He knows best.
When we lose a loved one despite our earnest prayers, when doors we prayed would open slam shut, when earthly victory is swallowed by defeat, we respond in faith, with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him” (13:15). Faith says He is able. It says He is for us. And it says we trust Him to plan all our days forevermore.