The Outward Journey of Prayer
"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." – John Wesley
We are leaning into the principles of praying to the Father as Jesus taught us (Matthew 6).
We are also leaning into tools that showed us the inward journey of prayer, bringing us closer to God while bringing healing to our soul and a posture of listening. We then turned our hearts upward in prayer. Now, we move our prayers outward–aiming to have our prayers make a fundamental impact on the fabric of reality! Prayer takes us on a journey further inward, upward, and outward. Yes, we want our prayer lives to not simply take up our time; we want our prayers to shape the world.
“God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be.” – E. M. Bounds
Read Matthew 17:14–21 & Matthew 21:18–22
Let’s step into Matthew’s Gospel, where we see two different yet connected moments in Jesus’ ministry. One involves a desperate father who brings his suffering son to Jesus after the disciples can’t cast out the demon (Matthew 17:14–21). The other involves Jesus cursing a fruitless fig tree and then teaching His disciples about prayer (Matthew 21:18–22). On the surface, these stories look different. But underneath, they point at the same thing: prayer that asks—boldly, persistently, and with faith.
Jesus wasn’t disappointed in the disciples because they weren’t God incarnate—He didn’t say, “You failed simply because you’re not Me.” Instead, He pinpointed their lack of faith and dependence on God as the real issue. The reason they couldn’t cast out the demon wasn’t that they lacked supernatural status, but that they had lost sight of how vital it is to lean fully on God’s power, not their own experience or ability.
But here’s what shocks us: Jesus turns to His disciples and essentially says, “This didn’t work because of your little faith.” Then He paints this picture: If you have faith like a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
This story isn’t meant to discourage—it’s a bold invitation. Jesus calls everyone to cultivate a mustard seed kind of faith: not huge, but real and active, truly trusting God to do what only He can do. Christ’s rebuke is actually an urge to step deeper into faith, to embrace prayer, and to depend on the Father’s power every day.
His exhortation feels accessible when it’s phrased like that! The phrase “in prayer” implies a relationship with God. We don’t draw on our own power; we invoke the power of God through faith based on our covenant relationship with Him. Christ encourages them that they, by proxy of him, have the authority to act in faith and do some audacious things! Kingdom things! Do we believe this? Do our prayers reflect this? Do our God stories testify to this?
This growth of faith (like the mustard seed that grows into a massive tree) is not like modern ideas of “manifesting” something with your positivity, visualization, or will power. Biblically, faith in prayer is linked to how we view and relate to God.
The more our beliefs come into alignment with who God is, how He desires to relate to us, and the delegated authority we have in light of this all, the more our prayer life will come off life support and will revive situations and circumstances all around us!
Jesus is laying out the expectation that we would have a lifestyle of prayer where we partner with God’s power through prayerful asking.
So where does that leave us? Two edges of asking prayer: petition and intercession.
- Petition is bringing your own needs boldly before God. It’s the father crying out, “Lord, have mercy on my son.” It’s you saying, “God, provide for my family. Heal this broken place. Break this addiction.” It’s personal. It’s raw. And Jesus teaches us not to be shy about it.
- Intercession is stepping in the gap for someone else. It’s mountain-moving faith on behalf of another. It’s praying for your neighbor’s healing when they can’t muster faith themselves. It’s praying for revival in a culture that appears to be far from God.
Both hinge on the same thing: faith that asks. Prayerlessness is powerlessness. But even the smallest faith, rooted in the living God, can unleash the miraculous.
What if we became a community marked by great faith? Not hype, not presumption, but a deep, persistent trust in God’s ability to break in. What if, instead of explaining away our powerlessness, we pressed in for more? What if we became the kind of people who believe for mountains to move? To say it bluntly: What if we took the words of Christ seriously and believe He meant it when He said it? I’ll give you my prediction. It won’t always go as planned or hoped. We will revel in the mystery. But we will also see many mountains move that may otherwise have remained!
Let this challenge inspire fresh confidence: Jesus believes His followers can move mountains—not because they become Him, but because, by faith and prayer, they access the same strength that flows through Him.
Jesus didn’t tell us to play it safe in prayer; He told us to speak to mountains. Pray for miracles–because the God who split seas is still listening.
Discuss
- What challenged or encouraged you most about Jesus’ teaching on mountain-moving prayer in Matthew 17 and 21?
- How do you personally distinguish faith-based praying from simply positive thinking or manifesting, according to the teaching here?
- Reflect on the concept: “Prayerlessness is powerlessness.” How does this statement resonate with your own experiences and the church’s story?
- What is one area in your life or the lives of others you feel prompted to pray and “move mountains” for this week? What specific steps will you take to pray boldly for it? (More practical material will be discussed in the next module!)
- What stories of answered prayer and “mountain-moving” moments could you share to inspire greater faith among others this season?