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How Much Faith Do You Need?

"Have you ever prayed for something and then not gotten it?  Have you ever wished for something to happen but it didn’t?"

You ask yourself, "Why Couldn’t I...

"...make peace with my sister?"
"...love my neighbor?"
"...save my marriage?"
"...lose the weight?"
"...get that car?"

or anything else you prayed for that you didn’t get an answer for.  You wonder why God didn’t answer your prayers.

It may surprise you to learn that you may have had a part to play
in your prayer not being answered!

It may be because you had so little faith!  Your faith was too little to accomplish it!

“What?” you ask.  “My faith?  My prayers weren’t answered because of MY faith?  How could that be?”

Peter, James, and John had the same question.  These disciples couldn’t figure out why their prayers weren’t being answered either.

In Matthew 17:19, they asked Jesus about it:

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”   He replied, “Because you have so little faith...”

Because they had so little faith!  It was their lack of faith that kept their prayers from being answered.

Sometimes it’s hard to have faith for something isn’t it?

We pray about something, but feel it is such as large request, we don’t even believe ourselves that it can happen.

If we want healing, or a new car, or a solution to a problem relationship, sometimes it the answer seems so impossible, we don’t have any faith for it.  We just pray to God to somehow take care of it for us.

However, as we walk along with Jesus, we find that in most every part of our relationship, He has His part to play AND WE HAVE A PART TOO.  It is not a one sided relationship.  As far as getting prayers answered, our part is to have FAITH.

We started talking about faith last week.  We found out that faith is believing that what God says is true because it is God Who said it.  Believing in what God says is true and acting as if it were so.

That is our part in getting our prayers answered.  Faith.  But sometimes things just seem impossible and we don’t have much faith at all.

How much faith do we need? 

Well, you’ll be happy to learn that all we need is a little to get started with. 

Jesus told the disciples, “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.”

What does Jesus mean by moving mountains?  Surely He doesn’t mean that you can tell Mount Trashmore to move across I-264!

What is meant by ‘mountain’ here is the ‘mountains’ we face in our lives, like sickness, depression, fear, anxiety, relationship problems, weight issues – all these things that can be mountains to us because they seem impossible to get over.

So, to move THESE mountains out of our lives, He said,

All we need is FAITH the size of a MUSTARD SEED!

If you have the smallest amount of genuine faith, you can do all things!

Let me say that a little differently – JESUS can do all things in you because of your faith.  Jesus is the one who answers our prayers, not us!  But Jesus needs something to attach His promises to, and that something is FAITH.  And a small, tiny amount is all He needs to get started.

The beginnings of faith are small.

At first, faith is weak, easily injured, and very exposed.  Like a little seed that just shot up the first two little leaves.  A tiny stem and two tiny, fragile leaves.  One heavy rain, or someone stepping on it can destroy it easily.

That’s how we feel when we first start believing for something, isn’t it?  We just start getting the glimmer of hope that our prayers can be answered, but one negative thing can come along and wipe out any faith that we had, right? 

Even though our faith starts out so fragile, it can grow into mountain moving faith with the right nurturing.

Here are some interesting facts about the mustard tree that Jesus spoke about:

You know the mustard seed is a very tiny seed, but the tree it produces can become one of the largest trees.

q       The seeds were remarkably small, but had the ability to grow into a great sized tree.  Even large enough to sit in.

q       It grew to an enormous size with large branches for birds to perch on.

q       But, it took several years to actually grow into a tree and then produce fruit.

q       The size it grew to depended on the climate.  It grew larger in warm climates than in cool climates

So, it is with our faith.

q       It starts out very small.  If you needed to have faith as big as the Grand Canyon, you would never be able to start believing for anything.  It would be too big!

Don’t ever feel that just because you start out with little faith that it won’t be enough.  God can do mighty things with the smallest amount of faith!

q       It has the ability to grow very large.  Large enough for our hopes and dreams and visions to sit in.

q       It takes time and nurturing for it to grow.  And the better the climate, the surroundings, and the nourishment we give it, the bigger it will grow. 

If we bask in the warm glow of God’s love and the peace and confidence His love gives us, it will have a good environment to grow in.

If we read and study His Word, our faith will develop the root system, the foundation for our faith to grow on.

If we put it into practice – let the birds sit on it and try it out – it will grow stronger because of the use.

How do we get the results that we need from our prayers?
How does our small faith grow into mountain moving size?

The very first thing we need to make sure of is that the things that we are asking God to give us  fall in line with what His Word says, right?  We can’t go asking God to answer our prayers for things that are contrary to His Word.  That is the very first thing we need to make sure of!

How do we know?  We can be pretty sure it is along God’s will if our prayer is for something that is good, wholesome, pure, honest, and from a heart of love.  What is your motive?

Then if your request is about healing, ask, ‘Would God want me healed?’
If it is about relationships, “Would God want this relationship to work?’
If it is about paying your bills, “Would God want to supply all of my needs?’

You can be sure that these types of prayers fall in line with God’s will for your life.

Now, let’s take a look at Mark 11:22

Here we will find the secrets to mountain moving faith:

‘Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. V.22

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. V.23

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” V. 24

1) First, we need to have faith in God.  We need to have faith in GOD to bring it about.  We have to believe Him, trust that He will do it for us.

The Word says in Mark 11:22, “Have faith in God,” and then in verse 23 “It will be done for you.”  Even though we believe it, it is God who actually does it.  We believe – that is our part.  God does it – that is God’s part.

We have to have faith in God and that He will do it for us.

Do you believe that God will help you or are you still depending on yourself?

If you are depending on yourself, you are not giving God the authority that He needs to have to give you the victory in that area.  You are still in charge.

Remember the prayers that God has answered in the past for you.  Your faith will be built as you recall the wonderful answers He has had for you in the past.

2)  Secondly, we need to believe we have received what we ask for.  Believe we have received.

To bring our faith into being we need to ‘see’ it in our minds.  We need to see the thing that we are praying for already accomplished in our minds already.  SEEING IT AS IF IT WERE SO.

The Lord gave us a wonderful tool for this.  It is called ‘imagination!’

Why do you think He gave us imagination?

-         He gave it to us so that we could dream dreams and see the vision of how our lives could be.

-         To look beyond what our current circumstances were.  So that we could reach out to the infinite things of God.

-         So that we could build our lives on the mighty possibilities that He has for us.

We need to picture the way our life would be if the particular promise of God was working in it.

There were two little girls, playmates, who were counting over their pennies.  One said, “I have five pennies.”  The other said, “I have ten.”  “No,” said the first little girl, “you have just five cents, the same as I.”  “But,” the second child quickly replied, “my father said that when he came home tonight, he would give m five cents, and so I have ten cents.”

The child’s faith gave her proof of that which she did not as yet see, and she counted it as being already hers, because it had been already promised by her father.

3) Do not doubt in your heart.  We need to confess the answer to our prayer daily, over and over – both in our minds and with our mouths.

No matter what the situation looks like.  Don’t let what you see in the physical keep you from believing what is happening in the spiritual; Don’t let it keep you from believing that God is taking care of it.

When we see the lack in the physical, we need to say in our spirits
“God is taking care of this.” 

Do you know that you can say one thing with your mouth and believe something else in your mind – your heart?

God sees what you truly believe.  There is no fooling God. 

So the faith that we need to have must be genuine.  It must be real in our hearts.  We can’t just say we have faith, regardless of what the size is, and not really mean it.

Now, as you are doing these things, what do you think that God is doing?  We are doing our part, what is God’s part?

1)   You have faith in God and that He will answer your prayer.

2)   You believe that you have already received it.  You see the answer in your mind.

3)   You do not doubt it.

While we are doing this,

God is looking to and fro.  He is looking into our hearts

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 
2 Chronicles 16:9

God is looking at your heart.

He is looking for that tiny mustard seed of faith that He can attach His power to.  
He is not looking at how tall you are, or the color of your skin, or if you are fat or thin.
He is not looking to see if your hair is perfect, or your clothes are perfect.
He is looking to see what is in your heart.  He is looking for patience, obedience, trust;
and He is looking to see if there is faith in your heart.

Faith; the size of a mustard seed; child-like faith; that is what matters to God.  “I see that Rose has faith in me to do this – I can do this in her life.  She will believe Me for this, so I can do it.”

You see, if God sees the faith in us, He can do His work.  That is what He is looking for.  If we have faith operating in Love, God can do anything! 

God looks to show Himself strong.  God does the miracles.  God looks where He can do them.  He looks for certain conditions of the heart.  He is looking for faith.

He wants to bless you.  He wants to answer your prayers.  He is looking for people to do His will in.  He is looking to see what He can do in your life.

What kinds of prayers are you waiting for God to answer?

Do you have the mustard seed sized faith you need for God to answer?  If so, be assured that your answer is on its way.  It will probably arrive when you least expect it. 

If you don’t even have the mustard seed sized faith yet, renew your faith in God first.  Realize that He is powerful and mighty and wants to answer your prayers.  Start reading the Bible and let His Word build up your faith.  God will meet you where you are.  He wants your faith to grow.

REMEMBER:

q       You have a part to play in the answer of your prayers – you need faith.

q       How much faith?  The size of a mustard seed is enough to get you started.

q       Your relationship with God is not one-sided.  God has his part, and you have your part.  Your part is faith.

q       Believe that you have received what you asked for in prayer.  ‘See’ the answer to your prayers.  You need to use your imagination to stretch our limited thinking and see what God wants to do for you.

q       You need to realize that it is God Who will answer your prayers – not you!  You do not have the power to answer your prayers.  You need to step aside and let Him answer them in whatever way He chooses to.  You need to give up the control.

q       You need to BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT.  Confess, or confirm, your answer daily.  You need to believe that it will be answered regardless of what your physical circumstances look like.  There is a lot going on in the spiritual realm that you will never know about.  God is working on your behalf in ways that you cannot see.

If you have faith that is increasing, and expanding, faith that is growing, and strengthening from small beginnings, Jesus can accomplish the hardest things through you.

If you keep believing, your faith will grow to such a strength that it can move the mountains in your life.  Mountains of bills, sickness, anxiety, fear, and disappointment.  They can all be moved by God starting with the simple faith that you have in Him. 

This week, I encourage you to think of the things you have been praying for and examine them. 

See if you truly have faith that God will answer them, or if you need to start over and plant that mustard seed of faith.

If you haven’t asked God for answers to a particular problem in your life,
why not ask Him to help you?

Realize that He is waiting and He wants to bless you.  He knows what you need and He wants to help you.  He is a loving God and can take care of all of your needs.  Ask Him to help you this week.