Matthew 21:21 “Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt . . . you can say to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’”

How do we move mountains? I thought about this as I sat in Springfield, Ohio, collecting money from an online tool auction.

Some of the tools were bulky, but one in particular was a beast! The heavy metal machinery sat in the middle of the barn loft woodworking shop. The owner mentioned that he had brought it into the upstairs workshop piece by piece. But now the question was how would the buyer get it down?

Soon a large, muscular man arrived and approached the object in question. After an intense observation (and a few swear words) he tried to shift the monstrosity around, but with no luck. I watched as he pondered a little more and then disappeared out the door and down the ramp.

In a few minutes he was back with a few other large men who also perused the large piece of equipment. Finally, they came up with a plan. Laying a blanket down they worked together to tip the machine up while one of them slid the blanket under the metal feet. They did this with each side until the whole bulk sat on the blanket. Then, groaning and sweating, they pulled and slid the entire apparatus to the loft garage door and, there, they maneuvered a forklift to move the mountain of metal onto the moving truck.

There are many different types of mountains in life but one common feature is that they are – or they seem to be – immovable. But Jesus told His disciples that faith is what moves mountains.

Jesus didn’t mean that by conjuring up some positive feeling we can do anything we set our minds to. He wasn’t talking about using our brains and brawn to figure out a way to overcome some huge problem. He was talking about our connection with God, the One Who has the power to do anything.

Hebrews tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” When our faith is in God and we are rightly related to Him, then we will have the opportunity to see His power at work even in “mountain” situations.

Many people love to quote Jesus’ words, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” But this is not a blanket statement putting us in control over our lives. God does not always answer our prayers the way we think He should. But when we know Who He is, understand His great love for us, and fully submit our wills to His, then the impossible can happen.

How do we move mountains? Not by our own strength and ingenuity. But by fully trusting and submitting our will to our powerful God Who hears our prayers of faith and answers them.