Mountain Move Over! (That is, if it's OK with You, God)
In your church, how does your pastor, or you, if you are the pastor, preach that verse about moving mountains?
Have you ever applied it to speaking to your body regarding a physical illness? For example, telling your body's blood pressure to regulate at a particular number, or commanding cancer to leave your body?
Does the idea of "commanding" feel uncomfortable to you, like you may be trespassing on God's sovereign will?
What do you think it means?
posted by Beth @ 5:35 AM
6 Comments:
The first time I applied that verse to a physical ailment, I had been suffering with unexplained abdominal pains for several weeks. They were getting worse, and the doctors were unable to diagnose the problem, even after having tests done (eventually the primary physician I had been seeing just gave up and told me to take pain pills, but even that didn't help).
I was in so much pain that it was difficult to walk, eat, or get out of bed in the morning (each of those activities caused intense pain). My husband and I were praying for healing but not seeing results.
A believer I know suggeted that I "speak" to my abdomen, commanding the ailment to leave in the Name of Jesus. I understood the biblical verse that prompted her suggestion, but I confess it sounded weird. Nevertheless, I did just that, usually when I woke up each morning. In a matter of days, the pain left.
That was four years ago. Every now and then (perhaps once a year at the most), the pain starts to return, but when I take authority over it in the Name of Jesus, it leaves instantly.
I confess the idea of commanding did feel uncomfortable to me at first. After God healed me, however, I began to apply the same principle when praying for others, and I have seen dramatic and even miraculous results sometimes. I praise God and give Him all the glory.
"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you".
I have used the companion verse above to illustrate that it is not the quantity of our faith that matters as in the statements by so many faith healers "If you have enough faith you can be healed" as if you just need to keep heaping it up until its large enough to accomplish it. A mustard seed is a very miniscule object yet for some reason Jesus says this is all the faith we need to accomplish anything we desire. I believe the answer is not in quantity but in the quality and the object of our faith.
James states in his epistle that "You do not have because you do not ask, You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures (or your selfish desire)". I believe God wants us to ask and do so expecting to receive because we know and understand his love for us just as a child to their earthly father. The problem is we also have to keep in mind that our Father knows best and sometimes will not give what we ask because it is within his power and authority to do so. We don't always understand but in our faith we must trust in the truth of his whole counsel and his will for our lives and the knowledge that he does love us and would do nothing contrary to that love.
Quantity - Mustard Seed
Quality - agrees with the will, word, and nature of God.
Object - God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
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Hey, got some terrific comments here - thanks, people!
Pastor Denny, hope you take me up on that invitation to guest post - you've obviously got some great things to say
:-)
If it agrees with the Will, Word & Nature of God . . . that works for me! :-)
Beth, would love to guest post, how do I go about doing it? Is there something I'm not seeing on your site that allows me to do this other than commenting to one of your original posts?
Hey, Pastor Denny, I just got back from vacation. I tried to e-mail you before I left but it bounced. I think I'm going to get a new e-mail just for this blog but in the meantime if you're in touch with anyone at N.0. you can reach me that way. You can e-mail me a guest post anytime. Thanks for expressing interest!
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