I want to look at the importance of prayer – what effect prayer will have in your life, how we can enact it, live it out, see the results. I want to show you the pitfalls, the difficulties, the fight to fulfil it – and the phenomenal result of the power of faith through prayer in action.
Mark 11 is so revolutionary, so powerful, it has changed my life! Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves and He came hoping to find some figs (v13). But He found nothing but leaves. So many Christians are like that fig tree – you can see them in some Christian conventions – all show, all leaves, a lot of shouting, a lot of noise, a lot of emotion. But no fruit, no result, nothing but leaves! This is one of the biggest problems I find today, a highly charged atmosphere, but no fruit. I love the singing, the worship, but let’s celebrate the victory when the church is moving in revival, souls are being saved and the prostitutes, drug addicts, ‘feral youths’ and criminals are coming to Christ! It’s a problem in the West, in America, in Europe: a lot of noise, a lot of talk, a lot of emotion – but it’s empty. If a wind comes, if a storm comes – the wind will blow them away! Don’t be like that. I want you to be the strongest believers anywhere in the world: people with fire, people with power, people who pray, people who will change the world!
So what did Jesus do with the fig tree? Jesus said: “Let no man ever eat fruit from you again!” And the disciples heard what He said. Next morning (v20), as they came from Bethany to the Mount of Olives, they saw the fig tree was dead. Peter remembered: “Jesus, this is the tree You cursed! And it’s dead already!” And Jesus looked straight at Peter and at every Christian – at every one of us – and this is what He is said (v22): “Wake up! Have faith in God!” Did you hear? – Have faith in God! Then He said (v23): “Truly I say to you, whoever you are, look up, see the mountain over there – if you have got faith in God, you will say to that mountain ‘be cast down into the sea’ and if you don’t doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, you shall have whatever you say!” Wow! If you really believe what you say, you will speak – and the mountain will move! Whatever you say, if you speak with faith and authority, and don’t doubt, you will be healed, your family will be blessed, your financial burden will move – even if these things are mountains in your life! But let this be a warning – watch your tongue – the miracle is in your mouth!!
I believe God will bless you. Have faith in God! I’m speaking over you power, blessing, healing! Speak it out! If you believe it and speak it, and don’t doubt in your heart, you will have power with God, and God will begin to work! Jesus said it! We’ve got to begin to understand the positive! Too often we fill our minds with negatives! Do you have mountains in your life? Have faith in God! Command them to go! God’s in the business of moving mountains! But you must declare (and actually believe, with no doubts), that in the Name of Jesus, they shall be moved!
James 5.16 says, ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.’ Powerful prayer works! The original Greek of the Bible often uses a special word for power: dunamis – it signifies miraculous, wonder-working power. From it we get the words dynamo (which generates power), and dynamite (the explosive). If you want prayer to work, to change your circumstances, then it must generate power. And it has to be like dynamite. If you put an ordinary explosive against a wall, its energy disperses into space. But dynamite does not dissipate its energy – it pushes the wall down! That’s what our prayer must be like. It’s got to move mountains! We must learn how to talk to God, until our praying will move every mountain, every obstruction, everything that stands between us and the fulfilment of God’s promises.