Faith That Moves Mountains: A Reflection on Mark 11:22-11:26
The Gospel Reading for Reference
The Introduction
The Exploration
A Closing Prayer
Disclaimer About Healing
Mark 11:22-26
The Lord said, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you are receiving it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Let us remind ourselves that Scripture is not just religious literature—it is the living revelation of God to us and for us.
The Gospel is not merely a biography of Christ, but an account from God about the Incarnation: that the Word came down to dwell among us. Then, through the Holy Spirit, He explained how and why, and condensed His 33 years into four short books—the manual for healing our souls and becoming fit for eternal life.
Each word, being from God, is never in vain. Every phrase is divinely selected. Every sentence is structured with perfection.
Let us then receive all we can from this passage, praying to God for understanding—a miracle in itself—so that we may partake in the divine mystery through prayer.
In these verses, Christ teaches us to pray—and makes two profound promises:
Whoever prays with faith, without doubt in the heart, will move mountains.
Whatever we ask in such prayer, we are already receiving.
Note the use of the present tense: receiving. The Fathers describe this as a kind of revelation—lightning-like illumination through prayer. But in His wisdom, God may reserve its fulfillment for the proper time. Let us pray that now is the time for us to ascend the mountain toward True prayer.
To receive such grace, Christ names three conditions:
Faith in God
No doubt in the heart
Forgiveness of those who trespass against us
The command not to doubt is repeated three times—once in faith, twice in belief—and always in the heart.
Why?
Because doubt in the heart is unlike doubt in the body or mind. We may suffer anxieties, confusion, even fear. But if we cling to faith in the heart, we have not fallen.
Consider this:
Someone raised in a dangerous neighborhood may still lock their doors each night out of habit, even after moving somewhere peaceful. Their heart is at peace, but their body still remembers the fear. That tension is not disbelief—it is simply the residue of suffering.
Now imagine this tension as a mountain—a barrier to peace, to sleep, to trust.
Christ teaches that with faith, this mountain can be cast out. But for the heart to be free, the soul must also release the offender—the one who caused the threat. Through forgiveness, we no longer judge by fear. We see not with suspicion, but with mercy.
Only then will the Lord remove the mountain, for hatred is a channel for evil.
By forgiving, we break the channel. We restore the inner world with love. And immediately, our Father in heaven forgives us.
This is because when we expel evil from our heart, we ourselves become temples of God—and thus dwell in heaven, even now, in prayer.
Let us not forget:
God, our Father, is good. He never stops loving—even in judgment. But if we do not forgive, we will be judged by our own conscience. Guilt and pride, left unhealed, will burn within us when the truth is revealed. We will not be judged externally—but by our own self-condemnation, in the light of God’s presence.
As young Christians, we often pray for physical mountains to be moved—success, health, provision. These are not evil—and the Lord, in His mercy, may grant them. But often, they are gifts given to those of little faith, that faith may grow.
As Christians of greater faith, we must remember that we do not live for this world. Each day we are nailed to it, and each day we must die to it—so that the spirit might live.
The New Covenant is not a promise for this life, but the next.
Christ came not to fix the fallen ship, but to call us off it.
Therefore, do not pray only for things in the world—and do not forget them altogether.
But rather, focus on removing the mountains in your soul—the fears, doubts, passions, and grudges that blot out the Sun.
And in time, what once loomed like a mountain will be cast into the sea—drowned beneath the waves of grace. For the heart that forgives, believes, and prays with faith has already begun to rise.
Our mission is to restore our fallen soul to its original image, that we may live in the image of God, dispelling the darkness within, to make room for the Light that already shines.
🕊️ Note:
Reason is a gift for those struggling with faith. Through prayer and obedience, it helps us ascend these mountains—until faith can remove them altogether.
Glory to You, Our God, Glory to You for allowing me to partake in this scriptural exploration. Please bless this work, and fill it with Your Light, that the minds of readers may be illumined by Your grace.
I pray that this passage is a rung in your ascent toward true faith and prayer, the greatest gift there is to receive. And of course, I pray for your blessings. Amen.
It is worth acknowledging that through Christ’s revelation and the humble agreement of the Apostles and many forefathers, true faith and healing of the soul only occurs with certainty in the Orthodox Church. That is not to say that healing does not exist outside of the One, True Hospital, it does. However, we can only be sure that it exists in fullness within it.
I am sharing my personal interpretation and exploration of Scripture from within the Church, through a lens heavily influenced by the teachings of the Church and adherent to Orthodox Dogma. May all glory be to God for any truth and inspiration!