Miracles for Today Series
Fourth in a series on God’s miraculous healing power for today.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 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. –Matthew 17:19-20
Can the size of our faith make a difference in God answering our prayers? Absolutely yes! Jesus says so in Matthew 17:19. The disciples’ prayers to cast out a demon went unanswered because of the “littleness of their faith.”
I walk a fine line in discussing these faith and prayer issues. I do not apologize for wanting to spark more faith. I’m convinced God delights in showing off His power today.
Still, I’ve seen prayer warriors with far greater faith than mine who did not receive a miracle healing. So I’m not suggesting if one only has enough faith they are guaranteed to be healed. We don’t control God with our prayers. One champion of the faith, the Apostle Paul, prayed diligently for God to remove a series of severe hardships, which he called a “thorn in the flesh.” He later realized the thorn remained to keep him humble. This story and many other similar Bible lessons teach that God has a Higher Purpose when He doesn’t answer faith-filled prayers.
But I hope we can agree we should always seek to grow in faith and bold prayers. Why would Jesus stress praying with faith and with boldness if it did not even matter?
Mountains in this context are symbolic of the humanly impossible situations in our lives. When we’re in a bind, Jesus must be pleased we are drawn to passages on moving mountains. The good news is our faith does not need to be that big for Him to answer in the affirmative. He said faith the size of a mere mustard seed can move mountains. Mustard seeds are small, about the size of the point of a ball point pen. This is just enough faith to move Him to activate His powers and abilities. Mountain moved.
So will you agree with the disciples and me, “Lord increase our faith”? (Luke 17:5).
Healing Prayer Service—Stronghold Ministry
3rd Tuesdays of each month
7:00-8:00 p.m. CST on Facebook LIVE on Joe Fornear’s Facebook page.
