Day Twenty-Two
“Mountain-Moving Prayer”
And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
Matthew 17:20
It doesn’t take a large helping of faith to move the heart of God to come to our aid. In fact, He says that it only takes a mustard seed of faith to move God to action. Today as you look at your mountain I want to remind you of a few things.
Your problem is not too large for God’s intervention. Do not dwell on your mountain today. Spend your time dwelling on your Mountain Mover. God knows your name and knows all about your mountain. He has not forgotten you. Though unbelief is a sin, it is not an unforgivable sin. If you have been dwelling in doubt as of late, please take some time to be reminded of the One to whom you are praying.
I just pulled a small book from a shelf that was given to me on December 25, 1991, entitled Dare to Succeed. I have read it several times over the years and as I was thumbing through it looking for something for this chapter I came across some statements that might prove encouraging to you today. “God is always able. If you don’t need miracles, you don’t need God.”[1]
Back in 1991, on the day after Christmas I wrote something at the bottom of one of the pages of that book. It simply says, “God is bigger than any situation I will ever face.” That is so true - God is bigger than any mountain you and I might be facing today or any other day in the future. If you were to fill in the blank on the following statement what would you say? God is bigger than__________________.
We cannot be reminded enough about how big our God is in comparison to our mountains. There are mountains in our way that must be moved, and our God is more than able (Ephesians 3:20.) By faith, speak to your mountain. Ask God for the mustard seed of faith you need to see your mountain moved out of the way. If we want to walk with God and join Him in His work in this world we will very often find that God calls us to something that is bigger than we are because we must depend on Him, giving Him the glory. He is a mountain mover. Do we believe that?
What if we gave ourselves six weeks and one hour a day for each of those days to pray for our mountain to be moved? That would be three hundred and twelve hours of praying. I don’t think there are many mountains could stand up to three hundred and twelve hours of prayer assault! Keep praying and keep trusting.
Let me conclude this chapter with another thought from the little book Dare to Succeed. “In the Far East the people plant a tree called the Chinese bamboo. During the first four years they water and fertilize the plant with seemingly little or no results. Then the fifth year they again apply water and fertilizer – and in five weeks’ time the tree grows ninety feet in height! The obvious question is: did the Chinese bamboo tree grow ninety feet in five weeks or did it grow ninety feet in five years? The answer is: it grew ninety feet in five years. Because if at any time during those five years the people stopped watering and fertilizing the tree, it would have died.”
Many times our dreams and plans appear to be unsuccessful. We are tempted to give up and quit trying. Instead, we need to continue to water and fertilize those dreams and plans, nurturing the seeds of the vision God has placed within us, because we know that if we do not quit, if we display perseverance and endurance, we will also reap a harvest. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, ‘By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.’”[2]
Steps to Trust and Obey:
Do you still believe that God is bigger than your mountain?
Which have you been dwelling on more: your mountain or your Mountain Mover?
Spend some time asking God to give you perseverance in your faith and the determination to see your mountain moved.
What is the Lord speaking to you? Are there any steps of obedience He is calling to you to take by faith?
[1] Dare to Succeed, 1991, Tulsa, Honor Books, p. 74.
[2] Dare to Succeed, 1991, Tulsa, Honor Books, p. 225-226.
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