Mark 11:22-23 - A Mountain Called Doubt

Step 1: Pray. Select.  

Today, I have contemplated how God is rebuilding my thought process through this 30-day challenge.

So many thought patterns over the years developed out of pure survival rather than walking out life as a true journey of faith.

In reality, we are taught to have faith, and we profess it at church on Sundays, but the question lingered in my mind like a needle hanging by a thread. What does it mean to truly walk out life with unwavering faith? Faith that is rooted so deep within you that nothing can sway you from God's plans.

I paused momentarily and looked over the fence line of my backyard while the dogs ran in circles chasing each other having the time of their lives.

The sun shined brightly since I got up slightly later than usual, and as I breathed in the brisk morning air, I noticed a majestic mountain that stood out amongst the rest of the range in the distance surrounding the area.

Immediately, my scripture came to mind this morning.

So I settled in after the dogs were tuckered out from their playful shenanigans and began my prayer practice.

Step 2: Write. Read. Circle

Mark 11:22-23 - "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore whatever you have asked for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and if will be yours.

After reading the scripture three times, the following words stood out in this order:

• This Mountain

• Doubt

• Throw Into The Sea

• You Have Asked In Prayer

• You Have Received It

Step 3: Re-Write

Adding my name to the front and with a focus on the words that stood out, here is the sentence(s) I came up with for today:

• Jennifer, this mountain, doubt, throw into the sea. You asked in prayer, you have received.

Step 4: Visualize

As I prayed upon the sentence, the Holy Spirit was adamant about my understanding of the mountain's name, "Doubt." The symbolism of the highest peak in the range I stared at and burned into my mind was a representation of doubt within.

I close my eyes and am taken to a closer view of the mountain. I am at eye level with the peak. Now that I am close to this mountain top, I see it is covered in white snow. The snow is thick, and the air is grey up here. It is cold and dark. Just then, the earth begins to shake, and a powerful earthquake begins to break out.

As I watch, the snow begins to shift and crack and slowly starts to slide down the face of the mountain. Large clouds also rise from the rubble as the earth destroys the seemingly peaceful atmosphere.

God is showing me that sometimes we can be lulled to sleep by our comfortable routines or doing what we feel is safe and easy in life, and the mountain remains like a giant sleeping that we shouldn't disturb. We begin to rest on our laurels of what we tell ourselves is security. But it is a false sense of security. The giant could wake up at any moment, so you live life oppressed by constantly tip-toeing around the giant in the back of your mind.

This is dangerous because we were meant to do great work in His name. And if we are building mountains of doubt, or call your mountain whatever you want, soon we will not be able to look over the top and just stand there constantly looking up from a fearful perspective, living at the base.

If you think about an avalanche and you view it from a helicopter or a plane, it can be one of the most majestic and spectacular wonders of nature you will ever see. Again, this is if you are flying above looking down. However, if you are watching from the bottom of the mountain and it roars and rumbles like a powerful beast, building momentum as it gets to the base to surely crush you, you will view it from a lens of fear, so you run instead of admiring the view. If we have gotten so comfortable that we don't believe we have the power to shake up the atmosphere, then we have already lost the battle of faith and live at the base of the mountain daily.

And that might be the most dangerous way to live, in fear, not living life at all!

Instead, we just watch it pass by like an onlooker waiting for everything to eventually end, never closing our eyes to focus and trust we are safe enough to take our eye off the mountain, even for a moment, and dream about what could be. Or better yet, take a step to climb the mountain so it eventually lives beneath your feet. There might be a foreign country where greatness lives on the other side, but if you never hike the mountain or commission a plane to fly there and see for yourself, you will never know.

The possibility of life and life more abundantly is awaiting. I am not saying to constantly be thinking of what is next or don't appreciate exactly where you are at; I am just saying to stop for a beat in the rhythm of your day to try dancing to a new song with God and let him lead every once in a while.

God is trying to shake us up, wake us up, and disrupt our atmosphere. One small disturbance can start a ripple effect, changing the world as we know it forever.

I have some questions for the Holy Spirit. I move to Step 5 right away.

Step 5: Ask. Seek

The main question(s) that came to mind were:

• What do I pray to throw down this mountain once and for all?

• You say, "You asked in prayer…" in the past tense. What specifically did I ask? I feel like there are so many things I asked. If one stands out, can you please confirm?

Step 6: Hear. Write. Receive

What do I pray to throw down this mountain once and for all?

"As the scripture says, you must ask in the authority of Jesus. You can only come to the Father through Jesus for these things. But remember, you have been baptized, so He lives within you and is with you all the time. He gives you spiritual authority to ask in His name, and then you must trust in His time He will make it so. But, you must remain constantly aware of His presence. If you fall asleep with the things of the world, you will fall back to the base of the mountain when you were meant to mount up on wings like eagles like my promise to Isaiah in Chapter 40:31. Have faith that your prayers have gone up if you asked in Jesus name, your answers will eventually come down as powerful as the avalanche I have showed you in your mind."

You say, "You asked in prayer…" in the past tense. What specifically did I ask? I feel like there are so many things I asked. If one stands out, can you please confirm?

"Let me remind you of the Book of Daniel. His prayer went up, and there was a delay due to the opposition of the oppressor. Then, finally, Michael came down, and the prayer was answered. Be patient. It would be good to ask your witnesses to pray for so you know without a doubt which prayer you are inquiring about was indeed answered by God himself and not your own mind or comprehension."

Step 7: Pray. Confirm

I love that the Holy Spirit has given me clear instructions for my two witnesses. This way, I will have no doubt God is speaking to me when I receive a clear answer so I can finally tear down this mountain of doubt once and for all.

I will remind my two witnesses to continue to also pray over the commitment to stay on track with the 30-day blogging challenge.

If you used the scripture of the day and need prayer or someone to pray with you, connect Here. Remember, you are not alone!

Step 8: Share. Testify

There have not been any personal miracles or testimony to report about today. But as soon as there is, I will report back right away.

If you workshopped any of the verses mentioned above using the 8-Step Prayer Practice, we would love to hear from you in the comments below about what the Holy Spirit showed or spoke to you today.

Don't forget to Spread Hope and share HERE if you have a miracle or testimony. We want to see how God is working in your life!

Conclusion:

I am unsure of all the dark places where doubt might reside in my life, but I promise to stay alert and call it out into the light as I go forward. The mountain didn't get this big overnight, so I look forward to standing and praying in the authority of Jesus to throw or tear it down once and for all.

As always, thank you for reading and spending time with me today.

Don't forget to share where the Holy Spirit took you with this scripture! I want to know what mountains you will commit to tearing down.

Be Blessed! See you all tomorrow.