Faith the size of a seed
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”Matthew 17:20
Reflection
The disciples had just failed. A father brought his tormented son for them to heal, and they could not — in front of everyone. When they asked Jesus why they failed, He pointed to the cause: "because of your unbelief". But notice what Jesus does next: instead of saying "you need MUCH faith", He says the surprising opposite — a faith "as a grain of mustard seed" would suffice, the smallest of all seeds. That is, the problem was not the QUANTITY of faith; it was the absence of it. Between "much faith" and "no faith" lies a world, but between a mustard seed and nothing lies the infinite.
This is one of the most relieving truths of the gospel for those who feel of "weak faith". Jesus did not set a minimum threshold of heroic faith for miracles to happen. He said a tiny faith, the size of a seed, is already enough to move mountains. Why? Because the power was never in the SIZE of the faith, but in the OBJECT of the faith. A small faith deposited in a big God does more than a big faith deposited in oneself. The question is not "how much faith do I have?", but "in WHOM is my faith?". A mustard seed planted in the right God is a powerhouse.
The image of the mustard seed is chosen deliberately. It is the smallest of seeds, but — as Jesus taught in another parable — it grows into a tree where the birds nest. Faith works like that: it starts tiny, almost invisible, but planted and alive, it grows. This means you do not have to wait to have an enormous faith to start acting. You start with the seed you have, and the very walking makes it grow. Faith is not a finished prerequisite you must reach before taking the step; it is a seed that grows precisely when it is used.
"And nothing shall be impossible unto you." What a bold declaration. But note that Jesus did not say "you will be powerful" — the power is not of the faith itself, but of the God it trusts. Moving mountains is an image: that problem that seems immovable, that situation stuck for years, that obstacle too big. Jesus is saying no mountain is a match for a God whom a small faith clings to. If you have felt too weak of faith to pray for something big, hear Jesus again: you do not need much — you need a seed, and to aim it at the right God. Plant the seed you have. Speak to the mountain. And watch what your big God does with your small faith.
Prayer
Lord, so often I feel too weak of faith to pray for big things. But You teach me that a mustard seed is enough — because the power is not in the size of my faith, but in You. Here is the little I have: I deposit it in You, the big God. Move the mountain before me and grow my faith along the way. Amen.
Put it into practice
Stop waiting to "have more faith" before praying for something big. Take the "seed" you have today and pray specifically for a "mountain" in your life (a problem stuck for a long time), placing your trust not in your faith, but in God’s power.
To reflect on
Have you conditioned your big prayers on "having more faith" — when Jesus said a seed, in the right God, is already enough?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).