Can Your Faith Move Your Mountains?
Text: Mark 11:20–24 (Context: Mark 11:12–26)
Jesus says to have faith in God, speak to mountains, and believe you have received whatever you ask (Mark 11:22-24). These words sound like a blank cheque, but read in context they are a radical call to reorient our understanding of God and faith.
The Fig Tree and the Temple
Mark structures this section deliberately: the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14), then the Temple (Mark 11:15-19), then the fig tree again (Mark 11:20-21). Both had impressive appearances but no fruit or substance. Jesus pronounces judgment on both. What looks permanent can be overturned when God acts. This sets the stage for everything that follows.
The point is, what looks permanent and immovable is not necessarily so. What looks like it will last forever can be overturned in an instant when God acts.
Three meanings: a literal mountain, the Temple Mount facing judgment, and every impossible obstacle we face. Zechariah uses mountain imagery for obstacles to God's purposes (Zechariah 4:7). Jesus means all of these—and every impossible thing in your life.
Whatever your mountain is, whether it is the temple mount or something else entirely, God is greater than it.
Faith in God, Not Faith in Faith
This text has been hijacked by those who say, "name it and claim it." This makes God a vending machine and faith a coin. It fails because it ignores the context and the rest of Scripture (James 4:3). It has caused enormous damage by making people feel God has failed them.
Jesus in Gethsemane prayed boldly but submitted to the Father's will (Mark 14:36). Paul prayed three times for his thorn to be removed, and God said no (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). The heroes of faith in Hebrews include those who saw deliverance and those who did not—all had faith (Hebrews 11:32-38). James warns against selfish prayers (James 4:3). The Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray for God's will to be done (Matthew 6:10). God answers yes, no, or wait. We trust Him either way.
Faith does not guarantee the outcome you want. Faith guarantees that you trust God no matter what the outcome is.
Jesus says to have faith in God (Mark 11:22)—not in your faith. The object is God, not your confidence. The mustard seed teaches us that tiny, genuine trust in a great God is enough (Matthew 17:20). It is not the size of your faith but its object that matters.
The power is not in the believing. The power is in the one whom we believe.
This is not inconsistent with “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Think of the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43) and the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34). And faith cannot be separated from forgiveness—they belong together (Mark 11:25).
His faith was weak. His Savior was strong.
Unanswered Prayer
Many have prayed for years and the mountain has not moved. We must not say, "You did not have enough faith." That is cruel and unbiblical. Jesus in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36) and Paul with his thorn (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) both prayed boldly and received no. Sometimes the mountain moves, sometimes God moves us around it, sometimes He strengthens us to climb it, and sometimes we simply do not understand.
Christian faith does not give us an explanation for every unanswered prayer. It gives us someone to trust in the midst of unanswered prayer.
The Mountain Is Not the Hero
Jesus is not giving us a technique to control God. He is saying God is so powerful that no obstacle is ultimately immovable. Pray boldly. Bring your mountains. Leave the answer in His hands. Faith says "God can," not "God must." Paul's testimony captures this: "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able" (2 Timothy 1:12).
The mountain is dramatic. The withered fig tree is dramatic. The prayer is dramatic, but the mountain is not the hero of this story. God is.
Jesus does not say to have faith in mountains. He says to have faith in God (Mark 11:22). The question is not how big your mountain is, but how big is your God. For the weary, Jesus says to come to Him and He will give rest (Matthew 11:28-30). The answer is not more effort—it is Jesus. Bring your mountain to Him, leave it there, take His easy yoke, and let Him carry the weight.
Speaker: Bro. Philip Fong