Today’s Verse
“Truly I tell you, 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.”
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
Prayer Moves Mountains
I hurt my back in my early twenties. Well, it was an muscular repetitive strain injury that by the end of each day was a dull ache that didn’t go away. For a couple of years, everyone kept asking “how’s your back?” So much so that it became my identity. I would always go up for prayer at church but after years of getting prayer nothing changed.
Eventually, I asked people to stop asking me how my back was. My back pain had started to define me. And honestly, it helped. When I stopped focusing on the pain constantly, it subsided. I figured out what triggered it -carrying heavy things on my shoulders – and avoided that. The pain became manageable.
But preparing this devotional this morning, I’ve realized that I’ve completely stopped praying for it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still there, especially now that I’m constantly picking up small children. But I’ve accepted it as permanent. I still believe God could and will heal me. I do. But I’ve stopped asking Him to.
And I don’t think that’s what God wants from me.
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, 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.” Prayer moves mountains. But what happens when you’ve prayed for years and the mountain hasn’t budged? I think it’s fairly normal to stop praying. Accept it and move on.
Yesterday I mentioned Abraham and Sarah waiting twenty-five years for their miracle. Hannah prayed for years before God gave her Samuel. The Israelites waited as slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. Moses prayed forty years in the wilderness before God used him. These weren’t people who prayed once and gave up. They kept asking. Kept believing. Kept bringing their mountains to God even when nothing changed.
I’ve given up on prayer for my back. Maybe you’ve given up on prayer for your mountain too. The relationship that won’t heal. The financial struggle that won’t ease. The health issue that won’t improve. You prayed for months, maybe years. Nothing changed. So you stopped.
But what if giving up on prayer is exactly what keeps the mountain in place? What if God is waiting for persistent, expectant prayer – not because He needs convincing, but because prayer is how we invite His power into situations where we’re stuck?
Today, I’m going to start praying for my back again. But what mountain have you stopped bringing to God? Bring it back. Keep praying. Trust that prayer moves mountains, even when the mountain has been there for years.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, prayer moves mountains, and I need to believe that more than I do, to trust that talking to You actually changes things, accomplishes what seems impossible, shifts what appears immovable.
I have mountains in front of me right now, obstacles that won’t budge, situations that seem permanent, problems that look unsolvable, and I need to believe prayer can actually move them.
Teach me that prayer isn’t just talking into the void hoping for the best but accessing real power, engaging divine strength, inviting You to do what I cannot do myself.
Mountains don’t move easily, they’re massive, stubborn, seemingly permanent, and that’s exactly why I need prayer, because my own strength won’t budge them but Yours can.
Help me pray with expectation, believing something will actually happen, trusting that bringing impossible situations to You in prayer opens the door for Your power to work.
Remind me of mountains You’ve moved before in my life, times when prayer accomplished what seemed impossible, when what looked permanent shifted because I asked You to move it.
Give me faith to pray about the mountains in front of me today, to bring You what seems unmovable, to ask boldly believing You can do what looks impossible.
Let me pray today with confidence that prayer moves mountains, and the mountains I’m facing are not too big for the God who hears and answers prayer.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Journaling Prompts
Q. What mountain have I stopped praying for because nothing seemed to change?
Q. When did I give up on that prayer, and why?
Q. Do I still believe God can move that mountain, or have I accepted it as permanent?
Q. What would it look like to start praying for that mountain again?
Q. What mountains has God already moved in my life that I’ve forgotten about?
Art Print
If this devotional has spoken to you, the full 8 × 10″ art print is available to bring into your home. It’s printed on quality art paper, unframed and ready to place wherever you need a quiet reminder that prayer can move mountains. You can find it in my shop, with free shipping included.