Mark 11:22-23 – So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Jesus exhorted the disciples, “Have faith in God.” Faith that rests in God is unwavering trust in His omnipotent power and unfailing goodness. Jesus was encouraging faith as the means to remove difficulties. If you have faith in God, you can deal with the problem of fruitlessness, and remove mountainous obstacles. However, these verses do not give you the authority to pray for miraculous powers for your own convenience or praise. Every act of faith must rest on the promise of God. If you know that it is God’s will to remove a certain difficulty, then you can pray with utter confidence that it will be done. In fact, you can pray with confidence on any subject as long as you are sure it is according to God’s will as revealed in the Bible or by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. We often hear that prayer changes things. But that’s not entirely true. Prayer changes us. Faith changes things. Jesus didn’t say, “If you encounter a mountain, pray that it might be gone.” No, He said to have faith in God and then verbally, audibly tell the mountain to be removed. Speak your faith verbally.

Challenge:

Why is speaking out loud so important? Why did Jesus tell us to speak aloud to the mountain? Because, that is when faith kicks in. It is easy for me to think quietly or pray inwardly for the mountain to be moved. Because then, if it doesn’t move, no one will know I prayed otherwise. There’s no step of faith, no risk involved if I don’t speak out loud. What mountain is currently intimidating you? Is it fear concerning an unsaved child, or depression over a business about to go under, or an illness that is currently upon you? Jesus tells you and me to go on record in the ears of our kids, our parents, our peers, our co-workers and to say, “Be gone.” After all, it was what Jesus did Himself in the ears of His disciples, which set the stage for them to believe (Mark 11:14). Maybe you are praying intensely and hoping passionately that a certain problem or a certain situation will somehow be solved. But the fact is, Jesus said it is not enough to simply hope or even to pray. Rather, you must say in faith verbally, “Be gone. Be removed. Be cast into the sea.” I challenge you this week to speak boldly, speak confidently and speak verbally to the obstacles in your way to “Be gone, in Jesus’ name”. Exercise your faith in God and watch Him change you and change your circumstances. For His glory. God bless you always.