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. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:22-26 NKJV
All Christians go through unsettling times during their lives. It’s during these times when our faith is “tested” when the Lord uses our circumstances to refocus on Him, to become more dependent upon Him. Problems will loom large in front of us and if we focus intently on them they will be like mountains, all consuming obstacles we don’t think we can get around. When we focus on the problem God looks small, when we focus on God the problem looks small. When troubled and challenged, we must rely on God by our faith and through prayer.
Prayer moves the hand of God. Never do we want to inhibit or curtail God’s power in our lives by limiting the power of our prayers. We must never allow ourselves to languish in a life situation where we by our lack of faith or our attitudes, prevent Him from helping us to move the mountains before us. Here is a list of some things, amplified by Scriptural commentary, that are important to God, so that we can pray in true faith and see God move in our lives...
Forgive everyone that has offended or hurt you, even in the slightest way. As the scripture above states, God will not forgive you if you don't forgive others. Failure to forgive one another causes separation between us and God and He will not respond to our prayer. Unforgiveness is also an open door for Satan to enter and cause division, which God hates. So... love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35-36 NIV)
Cultivate and maintain a clean heart. As it is said in Psalms... Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalms 24:3-5 NKJV) If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. (1 John 3:21-23 NIV)
Pray always in God's will. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7 NIV) When Jesus and His words are in us and guiding us then His will becomes our will, and prayers that speak forth God's will move the Kingdom of Heaven into action on our behalf. Here are some things that you can do and pray for that will move all of heaven into action, for in these things God delights. Think about these things recorded in the Old Testament by the prophet Isaiah, ponder them, for you will see that they all find application in your life as a Christian in today’s contemporary world... "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. (Isaiah 58:6-12 NKJV)
Call upon the Lord with a humble heart. "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV) Humility always moves us closer to God, pride always moves us further away from God. For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15 NKJV) Lack of humility will dampen your relationship with God. Prideful attitudes will most certainly inhibit your communication with God and leave you to challenge the mountains of your life without Divine assistance.
Pray for God's compassion, mercy, and grace. But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:24 NKJV) The Lord loves to demonstrate His loving kindness, his justice for those that are oppressed, and to bring His righteousness into the hearts of people. These kinds of prayers touch God's heart and move Him into our situations and circumstances. He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NKJV)
Focus on Jesus, not the problem. So Jesus said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:29-31 NKJV) Peter was able to walk on the water when he focused on Jesus, but when he began to focus on the physical situation it caused fear, which is doubt, the opposite of faith, and his doubt caused him to sink. Fortunately He knew where to look when things got really bad, and of course Jesus was moved with compassion to save him.
Our relationship with God, our union with Him is the key to our faith, our hope and our future. When we try and go it alone, using our own power to solve life’s challenges we have little more than a shallow hope that the mountains in our lives will somehow be removed or minimized. When we try and “hang on to the things of this world” that influence our attitudes, especially towards others, we risk inhibiting the power of God acting in our lives.
Hope without confidence and assurance is no faith at all. Confidence and assurance comes from trusting in God, living in harmony with His will and purposes, thereby maintaining the precious faith He has given to us. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1).
Our best defense against the things of this world, against the distractions that so easily ensnare us and cause us to set our own course, failing to totally trust in and waiting on God is to do what the Bible recommends... Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2 NKJV)
