Day 5: Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed
Bible passage: Matthew 17:14–21; Mark 9:14–29
At the Bottom of the Mountain
Today is Tuesday 5th of January 2021. Welcome to Day 5 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. On Day 2 we chose to trust God. Today we face the thing that most often gets in the way of trust: unbelief.
Jesus has been up a mountain with Peter, James and John, where they have seen His glory. When they come down they walk into a very different scene. There is a crowd, an argument, a desperate father, a boy who is suffering terribly and nine embarrassed disciples who have not been able to help him.
Why Could We Not Do It?
An Honest Question
Jesus heals the boy with a word. Later, when they are alone, the disciples ask Him why they could not do it. It is a fair question. They had been given authority for exactly this and had used it before (Matthew 10:1). Perhaps they had begun to rely on what had worked last time.
Jesus answers plainly. They did not have enough faith (Matthew 17:20).
Small Seed, Great God
Then He says something surprising. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain. “Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 (NLT)
What matters is not the size of our faith but the One in whom we place it. A small key will open a large door if it is the right key. Unbelief is more than doubting that God exists. It is living as though what He has said will not hold in my situation.
I Do Believe, Help Me
Mark gives us more of the father’s conversation with Jesus. The man asks Him to help “if you can”. Jesus picks up those words and tells him that anything is possible for the person who believes. The father cries out at once that he does believe, and asks Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief (Mark 9:22–24).
Jesus does not turn him away for having a mixture of faith and doubt. He heals his son. That father’s cry is one of the most honest prayers in the Bible, and you can make it your own.
Mark also records Jesus telling the disciples that this kind can be driven out only by prayer (Mark 9:29). Faith is not a feeling that we work up. It grows as we stay close to Jesus, and it comes from hearing the Good News about Christ (Romans 10:17).
Feeding Your Faith
Three Steps for Today
Be honest. Tell God where you find it hard to believe Him. He already knows, and He will not send you away.
Name the mountain. What looks immovable in your life? Bring it to Jesus by name today.
Take your thoughts captive. Paul speaks of capturing rebellious thoughts and teaching them to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). When a thought contradicts what God has said, answer it with Scripture.
Prayer and fasting do not change God’s mind about us. They change us. They bring us back into line with Him, until believing comes more easily than doubting.
Prayer for Today:
Lord, I do believe. Help me to overcome my unbelief. Forgive me for the times I have trusted my fears more than Your Word. I bring You the mountain in front of me, and I place it in Your hands. Increase my faith as I stay close to You, and teach me to pray with confidence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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