Faith That Moves Mountains

When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, " It shall be done to you according to your faith." [Matt 9:28-29, NASU]

WOW!!! Whenever I read scriptures like this, it really helps me to understand that one of the greatest factors that hinders or helps us experience the power of God in our lives is our very own faith. There are numerous examples in scripture where people received, or didn't receive for that matter, based solely on their level of faith.Obviously all answered prayers are within the context of God's will. It doesn't matter how much faith you have that God's able to rain down a billion dollars on your house, the chances are it'll never happen. Why? I thought God wanted me to drive a Bentley so I went to the dealership and prayed over the latest model. That's ludicrous, and unfortunately a lot of faith teaching has caused Christians to become materialistic. If you need a car, God will provide through faith, but He's not necessarily going to set you up with a private jet because you think it's a good idea. That's why we need a consistent relationship with Him through prayer, so we can know His will. When we pray His will, in faith, mighty things happen!!!

The basic meaning of the Greek word Pistis, which is translated as faith, is "persuasion" or "moral conviction." It's simply a belief or assurance, and when used in context of scripture, it's generally belief in God and the things of God. Such a simple concept, yet so mighty when we apply it...


Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" 20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.  21 " But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." [Mat 17:19-21, NASU]

Just look at the Biblical principles illustrated in these few verses. The first thing most people probably see here is that even a minuscule amount of faith can move mountains. That's incredible!!! But let's back up. The disciples were unable to cast out a demon due to their unbelief (lack of faith). So without faith, even invoking the name of Jesus won't have an effect. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva how that turned out for them [See Acts 19:14-16]. There were whole towns where Jesus Himself couldn't do many miracles due to their lack of faith [Mat 13:58].

The good news is we can play a hand in increasing our faith. First, everyone is given at least a measure of faith, according to Romans 12:3. Then we see that 2 Thessalonians 1:3 shows us it's possible to increase or enlarge our faith. This is wonderful news, but how can we do such a thing? Well, if we go back to our passage in Matthew 17, we see that Jesus said "this kind" only goes out by prayer and fasting. Some people try to say this is a certain level or type of demonic influence, but that's not what the passage says. Remember, He told them the reason they couldn't expel the demon was because of unbelief, not because of a lack of prayer and fasting. So, "this kind" is referring to their unbelief. So, if unbelief is the hindrance or obstacle of faith, and we can overcome unbelief through prayer and fasting, then we can pray and fast our way into greater levels of faith!!!

Let's dedicate ourselves to growing in faith and reducing unbelief through a continual prayer life, mixed with a regular schedule of fasting and the Word. This will help us remain balanced, and pray prayers within the will of God. That's when we'll see mountains move in our lives!!!