4 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Exodus 6:14-8:32
Matthew 17

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Matthew 17:19-20 (CSB): “Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ ‘Because of your little faith,’ he told them. ‘For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

So many Christians read the verses I have chosen for today and aren’t quite sure what to do with them. Therefore, they read right over them and don’t give Jesus’ powerful words much thought.

But what Jesus claims in Matthew 17:19-20 is so incredible that we cannot overlook His words. We must reflect on them and look for ways to apply them to our lives.

First, Jesus talks about a faith that moves mountains. These words remind us that Jesus sometimes used exaggeration as a literary device. After all, He spoke about pulling a massive beam out of our eyes and the difficulty of threading a needle with a camel. Simply put, Jesus never moved a literal mountain. He is talking about a faith that can accomplish massive things.

Second, we must understand that when Jesus talks about faith, He’s not calling us to feel the weight of responsibility to accomplish big things. Faith is our job, but it is not work. In actuality, it is simply believing in the character or words of God and then resting on those things regardless of what is happening around us. The emphasis isn’t so much on the faith as it is on the object of one’s faith (God’s character and God’s Words) and our resting in them.

Finally, we are told that faith “the size of a mustard seed” can be a mountain-moving faith. Jesus’ point is that our faith doesn’t have to be massive. It can be something small and seemingly insignificant. But if it is resting in God or His Words, then that small faith can be used by God to accomplish great things.

This brings us to one application of this principle. When we pray, we often ask God for things, but we often don’t take the next step to believe that He will actually hear and reward us with what we seek (Hebrews 11:6). It’s not asking that gets the job done; it is trusting.

How might this work? Well, the next time you need something from the Lord, find a relevant verse in your Bible where God has given a promise or has revealed something relevant about His character. Then, with your finger on that truth claim, ask God for the thing you need while trusting that He will answer your prayer.

Other prayer principles must come into play, like dealing with personal sin, desiring God’s glory above all, asking in Jesus’ name, and submitting every request to God’s perfect will (“nevertheless, not my will by Yours be done”). So, study the Bible to learn about the prayer principles and then ask God for what you need, trusting in Him to hear and answer. Then, see what He does.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to enable you to become a student of prayer, learning what the Bible says about how to get your prayers answered and complying with those principles.
  • Ask God to help you begin to genuinely trust Him for what you need and what you believe Jesus would have you ask for.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ words, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“Can faith really move mountains?”

“What does it mean to have mustard seed faith?”

“How should a Christian respond to unanswered prayer?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)