Faith - Moving Mountains
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain 'Go throw yourself in the sea' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:21-22 #faith #movingmountains
Dear Friends, Thank you all who filled out the music survey and also those who took some time to give me some thoughts on the above passage.
Here is a personal testimony about that verse above and then the comments received from other readers. Hopefully the website will be able to receive comments and we can discuss our thoughts.
Personal testimony: I have never seen a geographical mountain move into the sea, but I have seen mountains of disbelief move into belief and mountains of hate move into love, injustice into justice, and mountains of unproductively move into creative and fruitful outlets. I have experienced answers to prayer so that I keep records of prayers prayed. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes wait.
But many times, God in His mercy has allowed me to see Him move in situations too messy for human minds and hearts to undo or to bless. Sometimes we face bleak forecasts; sometimes each day is a mountain that can only be moved through continuous practice of the Presence of the Lord. One Day all that seems unraveled will be knit together in the love and comfort and everlasting arms of the Father.
Jesus came to redeem the world, but all that he suffered and died for is not yet revealed or completed but it will be. As we hope in Him, and we walk in faith not receiving all that we will receive, we will walk securely into the future, hand in hand with our Heavenly Father, trusting, obeying, seeking, yearning, with courage, with hope, with confidence. After all, in heaven, we won't need faith or hope, just love. Right now, we need all three. Answer 1. Romans 4:17 He speaks into being that which does not exist. Answer 2. I knew someone who prayed so hard that God would heal a certain child of cancer, but the girl died. This strong believer was so certain the child would be healed that she was stunned when the girl died. I worried the shock would shake her beliefs to the core and she might never believe again. On the other hand my dad has had so many miracle comebacks since 2007 that I think prayer does have bearing on the outcome.
I know we are supposed to pray according to God’s will, and then His will would be done, but if we have no idea what God’s will is, what then?
My dad now only prays that God’s will be done and doesn’t get specific, at least not in my hearing. It’s like he doesn’t have hopes any more and is just resigned to waiting til his suffering is over. I know my brain is sometimes a little scrambled, but sometimes when my prayers aren’t answered I feel like I really didn’t deserve the blessing I asked for, because it still amazes me that He saved me and loved me when I was such a sinner.
You believe it will happen as long as you pray for God’s will in moving the mountain. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to see God's will revealed to us but often we do not see the mountain moving to the water but that does not mean it’s not happening. Answer 3. The word “believe” is the important word. What is it that I believe? If it is that God is with me through the trials so I have no fear, then the mountain will cast itself into the sea because it doesn’t matter if it is there or not. We can pray, for example, for physical healing and believe God will answer that prayer but perhaps he does but not in the way we wish. Perhaps our healing is to leave our body and be whole with God. If we trust our Father, we will believe fully that God knows what is best and that is now how I pray. I ask God to heal, comfort, encourage, protect those in the ways that He knows best and to help me to be the person He wants me to be. As far as really moving mountains, a great biography is of an engineer, RG LeTourneau. (RG LeTourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains), who passed through a long series of trials and types of work and became the man of faith who created the earth moving machines that helped the Allies win WWII. ------------------------------------
Dear Lord,
We are thankful that You are with us and hold us as we face mountains in health, finances, future, work, relationships, faith. Lord, I pray that each person reading these thoughts and prayers based on your amazing words will be encouraged to see you work in a mighty way--that your blessing would be on them today as David prayed in Ps. 27:13,14 "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." You know all the specifics of needs of places to live, healing, work, protection, healing. Thank you, Father. We come to you together believing in Your mercy and your provision. Just this week, I have had the honor of being with a broken hearted mother, children who have lost a parent, people needing courage to face another day in their situation. I know that we all need the Lord to move mountains for us; we also need community to help us stand, as feeble as our standing may be. That is why we want to develop more of a sense of community on the Alabaster Ink Well website. Stick with us, the mountains of technology will move to help bring us more encouragement! Amanda 1 John 5:14,15 - "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him." New: Luke 14:12-14 - "Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will e repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."