Don’t Limit God by Your Finite Mind!
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 11:22–24 (NKJV) So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Did you know there are certain areas in our lives where God wants us to act rather than ask Him to do it through prayer? This passage reveals what Jesus requires of us when we pray the prayer of faith. It is a “hard saying” many of us struggle with because we use our finite minds to gauge what is possible and use reason to justify why we think something is impossible.
Verse 23 says, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says”. At first, it may sound prideful to speak to our obstacles this way. Indeed, there seems to be a thin line between faith and pride in such a situation, but acknowledging what Scripture requires of us and trusting that it is done once we have spoken is actually an act of humility.
Prayer is also a way for us to exercise our rights as children of the living God. Although God is sovereign, He has given us the right to choose and to exercise our faith in Him. God has vested us with His authority and given us the use of Jesus’ name. He wants us to use them in exercising our faith by denying the devil’s work in our lives; He wants us to speak according to the promises He has given us. Wisdom is knowing how to apply different Scriptures to different areas of our lives, and learning how to rightly divide the Word.
If you believe certain experts can solve your problems, that means you hold them in high regard; the question is, “Do you hold God in such high regard that you believe nothing is impossible for Him?”
We must develop our faith in God. However, we must not have faith in our faith. Instead, we must have faith in God. That is why Jesus said in verse 22: “Have faith in God.”
Don’t limit God with your finite mind by believing He can or cannot do something, and don’t elevate reasoning above the supernatural. Instead, renew your mind about God’s power and accept the Bible’s claim about what God can do. God is indeed an omnipotent God.
Reflection: Have you limited God’s power through human reasoning or what you can’t understand? How is the Holy Spirit challenging you to expand your view of God?
Sermon Series: The Prayer of Faith
