“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 these 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.” Mark 11:22-24
The book of Mark in the Bible is a book filled with lots of action and was written from a perception different from the other gospels. The stories are short, yet full of action and great truths, teaching the believer they have authority and a responsibility to change their world. For example Matthew focused on teaching the world about Jesus when He recorded the great commission, “And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth, Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” While Matthew acknowledged the power we have been given, his focus was on teaching people about Jesus and then baptizing them as a public confession of their faith. Mark records the same incident as “ And these signs shall follow those who believe; In My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means harm them, they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” Mark’s focus was on the power and authority the believer has and the impact it will have as we witness. While Mark’s name is on the book of Mark, he is not the real author of it. Peter dictated to Mark the things that most stood out to him about walking with Jesus as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). The same Peter who knew Jesus was the Son of God, and who cut off the servant’s ear when they came to arrested Jesus. Peter was the disciple of action, he noticed what results words had and he was not afraid to obey and take authority over the enemy.
In Mark 11, Jesus left Bethany to go to Jerusalem to clean the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was hungry and as he passed a fig tree, he stopped and searched the tree for some fruit to eat, finding no fruit, He cursed the tree saying, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” He went on to spend the day clearing the money changers out of the temple and declaring that His house should be called a house of prayer. The next morning Jesus and the disciples headed back to Bethany and Peter noted that the fig tree dried up from its roots and drew Jesus’ attention to what happened to the tree Jesus cursed. Can you imagine what a contrast it was to have a bushy green vibrant tree ne day and the next day it shriveled from its roots? Jesus seized the opportunity to teach the disciples about the authority they had as believers. He started by saying “Have faith in God,” Jesus did not takt the credit for something God did. As believers we must know “I am the vine and you are the branches, if you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Jesus knew who His source was, and He told the disciples to have faith in God. Too often we forget we are in Christ, the branch and we allow the enemy to intimidate us into thinking we do not have the authority, power or righteousness to do the things God has called us to do. If we keep our eyes on Jesus and remember that we cannot “cast out demons, speak in new tongues, and lay hands on the sick,” apart from the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in all believers. It is so easy to fall into the trap of not wanting to lay hands on the sick and pray for them, because we are not sure if they will recover and we do not want to look foolish or need to make excuses for God who for whatever reason did not heal them. God is sovereign and no matter the outcome when we pray, we must still believe that He is able to do all things, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
While all power and all authority comes from God, we do not get to just coast through life and say if it is God’s will. There are things we attribute to being the will of God that are so contrary to the character of God defined in the Bible. When Jesus was here on earth, there were times He could do not great thing because of the people’s unbelief. It is imperative that we get to the point that if the Bible says it, we can have or do all it says. Have you ever bought a treat for your children or grandchildren, and they knew you had it, but you put it in the cabinet for later? They will not rest until they get what they know is theirs. We need to be that way in prayer that we keep asking and keep claiming the blessings of God until they come into fruition. There are some things I have been praying for that have not manifested in my natural senses, so I have been on a quest to find out what is keeping me from seeing them answered. I do not doubt God is able and willing, so I have been asking God what is missing from my belief system or the execution to how I try to obey and walk in the signs believers are called to have. Yes, there are times I have prayed for someone, and they instantly were healed, our son hurt his knee at work and hobbled around for several weeks, and I finally asked if I could pray for his knee and the next morning it was healed and he has not had anymore problems with it. There are other things I have been claiming healing over for years and it has not been completely healed. What I am about to share is coming from my time with God seeking answers and I pray it will help answer some questions you may be having.
After Jesus cursed the fig treen and the disciples found it shriveled up the next day. Jesus began to teach a concept that might be missing from our Christian Walk. Read the verse again, “whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that these things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray.” Three times Jesus said the word “says.” If you know me very well, you will know that when I really get serious with God in prayer, I tend to get very loud. I grew up in churches where people pray and the more intense, they get, the louder they pray, it seems so foreign to go to a prayer meeting, and everyone finds a quiet place and prays silently. Some of the women I trust the most to pray with me are quiet prayer warriors. When we have our women’s prayer meetings, they have learned to tolerate my loud praying while they get ahold of God quietly. God can hear our loud prayers and as well as hear the prayers we pray in our mind. I think the challenge is when we face giants or mountains that just do not seem to move, they cannot read our mind, and they need to hear us take authority over them verbally. In 1 Samuel 17 David confronts and defeats Goliath. David walked into the valley to do battle speaking to Goliath “You come to me with a sword, with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, and I will strike you and take your head from you.” Yes, David had to actually fight, but he spoke to the giant standing in the way of his destiny. Jesus was hungry from fasting forty days and the devil appeared trying to get Jesus to take the easy way to His destiny by sinning. Each time the devil offered something enticing to Jesus, Jesus countered it with the Word of God. He said, “It is written,” and then went on to use the Word of God as a weapon against the devil. No wonder Paul told us to take up the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6. Many of the battles we face today could be won by welding the Bible against the accuser. The word of God should be our defense and our offense. Thank God we can resist the Devil with the word, and he has to flee, but we need to go into the enemy’s camo and take back what was stolen from us with the word as well.
I do not know what mountain you are facing that needs to be moved. It can be the mountain of sickness, finances, mental anguish, relationships, and the list goes on. What would happen if we started doing what Jesus taught and speak to the mountain? What if we spoke out loud to those who are sick and start claiming, “Healing is the children’s bread.” By His stripes I am healed,” and begin to tell the mountain of sickness to be cast into the sea. For those tormented in their emotions, start to speak “I have the mind of Christ,” “He will keep ,me in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him.” “My God shall supply all my need” to the finances that need to be healed. While it is important to cast our cares on Him in prayer, it is just as important to speak to our mountains and command them to be moved. If we will find promises in God’s word that answer the problems we are facing and start speaking to them to out mountains or obstacles, we will see God move those mountains. In the book of Joshua, I love Caleb’s request, he told Joshua give me this mountain. What mountains do you want God to give your victory over?
Cathy Nesmith