Mountain Moving Prayer

Prayer is powerful!  Jesus taught the disciples the power of prayer.  One illustration he used is that of a mountain being cast into the sea (Mark 11:23).  All of us have mountains to overcome in our lives.  They stand before us, intimidating us.  Often we look for a way around them because we see no way to get over them easily.  But Jesus’ solution was to move them.  How do we move the mountains in our lives?  Through prayer!

Paul says we do not pray as we should (Romans 8:26). There are at least five reasons we do not pray as we should:

1.      We are preoccupied with other things and priorities that take the place of prayer, even that take the place of God.

2.      We are faithless – we do not believe God’s promises.  We all find ourselves like Peter who became distracted by what he saw rather than what he could not see, the power of God at work.  And to us God says, “Why did you doubt?”  Still God is faithful to pick us up

3.      We are discouraged – unanswered prayer.  Unanswered prayer does not lie in God’s hand but our own.  When God does not answer prayer, look to yourself first.

4.      We are sinful – If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear.

5.      We pray without heart

 Prayer that is routine or repetitious indicates an anemic spiritual life.  John Bunyun said, “When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words without heart.”  To pray with your mouth what is not truly in your heart is hypocrisy. As God loves a broken and contrite heart, He loathes a divided heart.

Steps of Mountain Moving Prayer

1.      Mountain moving prayer begins with the recognition that you can’t move it.  If it is going to be moved it is going to be moved by God.  Jesus said that what you ask for you receive.  Answered prayer is a gift, so it is not of you but of God. 

2.      Mountain moving prayer occurs when you realize God wants to move it for you.  He waits to be wanted by you, which is often the reason the mountain is before you (Isaiah 30:18). 

3.      Mountain moving prayer is diligent. Refuse to leave God alone about it. In Latin, the ancients defined prayer as “Ascensus mentis ad Deum,” a climbing up of the heart unto God.  So, you do not have to climb the mountain to overcome it, you have to climb into the heart of God.

4.       Pray until the mountain is moved!