At one time of another, we ALL face mountains.

I belong to a mastermind group.  It sounds like a big important group, but in actuality, it’s me and two more blogging friends.  We share blog goals, we bounce ideas off one another, we give lots of encouragement when it’s needed, and best of all, we pray for each other.

All of us are either going through or have had some pretty big life challenges and one thing we know for sure… prayer works.  It’s not uncommon for one of us to be facing a small challenge or a mountain of a challenge and for another one of us to say, “God will show you what to do.” And then we will proceed to pray a mountain-moving prayer for our friend.

The really cool thing about our little group is that we share the same values in our faith.  We believe our God is a BIG God, that He is our redeemer, restorer, rebuilder, and that He is intimately involved in our daily lives and wants not only to hear from us in prayer, but that He wants to move on our behalf as well.

That puts us in a unique position when it comes to prayer…. we pray believing God will move.  

If you believe, whatever you ask for in prayer will be granted.
Matthew 21:22

Jesus told His followers they could have Mountain-Moving Faith 

I know that not everyone believes the Bible literally.  In the Gospel of Matthew, there is an account where Jesus spoke to a fig tree and it withered.  He then told his followers that if they had faith, and didn’t doubt, they could do much more than that, they could tell a mountain to jump into the sea and it would.

Now I have never heard of a mountain jumping into the sea because a person told it to do that.  Seriously, that is hardly practical, the consequences could be highly detrimental to both whatever/whoever lives on or by the mountain and in or by the sea.  But, I think we all can agree that we all encounter difficulties or challenges that feel mountain-sized.

I think that Jesus was telling his followers that whatever they might face, even mountain-sized problems… if they had faith… they would receive what they asked for in prayer.

This faith or belief that Jesus was speaking of was beyond a hopeful anticipation, instead, it was more like a signed and completed contract that guarantees delivery.

Do not worry about anything, but pray
and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
Acts 16:25-26

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul admonished the Philippians to pray for everything they needed, giving thanks.  It almost seems odd that he would have to tell them to thank God.  Yet, I think there is a progression to effective prayers.

We need to have expectant hearts when we pray.  We need to pray prayers that expect God to do really big things.  I hear people pray all the time, “God, if it is your will, please do such and such.”  If we spend time with God on a regular basis, we should have some idea that what we are asking is or is not in His will.  God does not keep everything wrapped up in secret boxes.  We may not know all the details, but we should sense in our spirit the direction we should go.

In my thinking, when we pray asking and end with, “if it’s your will, God” we are in essence praying without faith.  And since we are told in scripture to keep giving thanks when we pray, well, how can we give thanks for something that we wonder about?  If we wonder, if God will answer the prayer we asked, we just might not be praying in faith.  I do not think that praying that way honors God.   Oh, yes, it sounds very humble and spiritual, but really, God is more honored when we ask Him to do the impossible.

When was the last time you asked for a mountain to jump into the sea?

When we pray a great big audacious prayer we also need to wrap it in gratitude.  How is it that the God of the universe cares so much for you that He wants you to ask him for everything you need?

If He wants you to ask for everything you need, then I believe that He also wants to supply ALLyour needs.  And that to me, spells Y-E-S and is an answered prayer.

If you call a friend to ask if they’ll drop you off at the airport and they say, “Yes,” what is your response?  I have no doubt that immediately you will reply with thank you.  You might even say it several times in different ways.  If your friend tells you that she can’t work it into her schedule, you will still say, “Thank you,” won’t you?

So how do you pray?

When we go to God for something, we can ask and keep asking and never stop asking until our request is granted, like the persistent widow.   Or, we could ask and then believe God has answered our prayer and thank Him for it.  And instead of continuing the asking process, we could continually praise and thank God for the answer to our prayer.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened.
Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake that shook the foundation of the jail.
Then all the doors of the jail broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains.
Acts 16:25-26

Not only is God honored by audacious prayers, but when we give thanks and praise God, we move His heart.  I don’t think that it is any coincidence that Paul and Silas and all the prisoners were freed from their shackles while Paul and Silas were praying and praising the God.

As we grow in our trust of God, we grow in our prayer life.

Over time I have changed the way I pray.  No longer do I pray like the persistent widow.  Instead, I make my request to God and then I thank him for the answer.  Then in subsequent prayer times, I thank God and praise Him for His answer which I have not yet seen.

I have a sense that God plans for this “extraordinary” spot on the world wide web. I’m not exactly sure what He has in mind… but I look forward with great expectation to what He is leading me to do and seeing how He unfolds all the details in the days and months ahead.  In the meantime, I’m following up my mountain-moving prayer for His direction and guidance with praise and rejoicing.

Just like something amazing happened for Paul and Silas…

God’s going to move in a mighty way as you thank and praise Him, too.

~ What kind of mountain are you facing today?

~ How big is your God?

~ How big is your faith?

~ Can I pray that mountain-moving prayer with you?

It’s Joy Day!

Just like Paul and Silas were praying and giving thanks… even in jail… let’s give thanks in everything…  the gifts, the blessings, the circumstances that look nothing like blessings, and sometimes even the hurt.  Let’s glorify God and give thanks in all things.

Will you join me in counting seven things from the past week?

I’ll start….

Thank You, Lord, for…

1. calling us to pray mountain-moving prayers and delight in answering them.
2. a turn of circumstances for Tim.  We praise you and believe that you have something even better in store for him.
3. the sunshine and milder temperatures on the official start of summer, according to the calendar.
4. my little porch garden that continually delights my spirit.
5. my readers who have encouraged me so in their survey responses. (Please nudge others to fill it out, too!)
6. Your faithfulness and provision.  We are so very grateful.
7. neighbor kids who get excited to sit at our table and enjoy their first root beer floats made with chocolate ice cream.