July 4, 2024

Matthew 21:21-22

²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

I spent quite a few years in a denomination. I even went to a denominational Bible college. But in all those years and in all that education, I was never taught about the power of my words. Essentially, I was taught that I was worthless and powerless, and I was hanging onto my salvation through grit and determination, hoping I would last long enough to make it to heaven.

Theoretically, we were taught to believe in healing and miracles – that they were still possible. But in practical terms, we never addressed how these things might be accomplished. It really was understood to be a random and confusing process of whether the healing or miracle was God’s will or not.

I cannot tell you how many times I heard someone praying with the phrase, “Lord, if it be your will…” I prayed this way myself. And I had no idea that this phrase, and in fact this attitude, was self-destructive and was not only destroying my prayer life, but was keeping me from seeing healings and miracles. Even when I believed they were theoretically possible!!

I could make a case from Scripture that every Christian is supposed to know God’s will. We know God’s will because it is revealed in Scripture! The Old Covenant believers didn’t understand God’s will because it was still being revealed. But all this fog and cloudiness has been removed in Jesus and our New Covenant. He is the perfect revelation of the will of God.

We see Jesus ALWAYS healing. In fact, we NEVER see Him not healing. And yet, I had no idea how to imitate Him. No way to take the theoretical and bring it into the practical.

Now understanding this passage right here became a game-changer for me. Jesus is showing us here that those who will follow Him have been given great authority. And this authority flows through THEIR WORDS!

Do you want to see healings and miracles? You must speak them! You must “say” something to the mountain. And the mountain must respond to your spoken command. Jesus is using the “mountain” to metaphorically represent your problem, whatever that obstacle may be.

Mountains do not randomly get out of your way and cast themselves into the sea. They won’t even move if it is God’s will that your path ahead be clear. The mountain of healing and miracles is not responding to the voice of God in our passage. It is responding to MY voice!

This is the way that Jesus taught us to do it. And this is a huge game-changer. I am no longer a powerless victim, hoping that God might will to heal me. Rather, I am given the authority to move the mountain myself. It is still God’s power. But I have the full authority to use it at will.

With my words! They need to be words of faith and not words of doubt. But either way, my words will produce whatever my heart is believing for. There is no randomness in this process at all.

The mountain WILL respond. It MUST respond. But it will respond to faith or to doubt. Whichever one is coming out of my mouth,

Silent prayers can never be prayers of power. The mountain only responds to words.

Understand this passage and it will be a game-changer for your prayer life!