Matthew 17:20 “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.” (KJV)
Faith the size of a mustard seed. What is a mustard seed? According to Wikipedia, a mustard seed is a small, round seed of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about 1 to 2 millimeters (1⁄32 to 3⁄32 in) in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three different plants: black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown mustard (B. juncea), or white mustard (Sinapis alba).
According to McCormick, mustard seeds are tiny, dark seeds. The size is about 1-2mm in diameter and comes from a mustard plant, a member of the cabbage family. Mustard seeds may be small, but they bring a big flavor and make any dish more interesting. They’re often used to bring depth and a bit of kick to mild ingredients, such as potatoes, chicken, and seafood. They are widely used in Indian, European, and African cuisines.
Britannica says white and brown mustard seeds are nearly globular in shape, finely pitted, odorless when whole, and pungent tasting. White mustard seeds are light yellow and about 2.5 mm (0.1 inch) in diameter. The brown mustard seeds are about the same size but darker yellow.
Okay, I am sure you are asking yourself, “Why is she giving me these definitions of a mustard seed? What does this have to do with having faith?” If you notice, every description says that it is small. It made a point of letting you know it was tiny, but it had a poignant flavor. The tiny mustard seed carried a punch. This little seed is powerful. In this itty-bitty seed is power. God is so awesome. He breaks it down in a visually understandable way and points us in the direction that He wants us to go. It is up to us to receive it.
In Matthew 17:20, God gives us a visual aid to help us with our faith. He shows us that we only need a tiny bit of faith. He is saying that if we trust and believe the size of a grain of a mustard seed, all things are possible. He wants us to believe and have faith. That house you are praying for…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. The dream you still have not birthed…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. That promotion that you want…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. That husband or that wife you are believing God for…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. That financial blessing you are believing God for…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. That business you are dreaming of starting…He needs you to have faith the size of a mustard seed.
When you have faith, the size of a mustard seed, you can speak Mark 11:23-24, and it will come to pass. “23 For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” You can have whatever you ask for if you have faith the size of a mustard seed.
God knows all that we are going through. God does hear our cry. What God wants to know is if we trust Him enough to have the faith to believe He will answer our prayer. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. If we have faith the size of a mustard seed, then we are believing. We do not have to wait for the evidence to know our prayers will be answered. We do not have to wait for the evidence to know our breakthrough is coming. We do not have to wait for the evidence. All God is telling us to do is believe. We see others with their breakthrough. We see others with their financial blessing. We see others with a new car. We see all these things, and we wonder why not me? Why not you? It can be you. You are the one holding you back. God wants to open up the windows of heaven and bless you abundantly. The moment the blessing is coming, ready to fall, you begin to doubt. You say you believe and that you have faith. You say you have faith the size of a mustard seed. But at the first sign of trouble, you back down. When it seems to be taking too long, you lose heart. You begin trying to do things on your own. You listen to other people and try to make things happen your way. He asked you to have faith the size of a mustard seed. A small, tiny mustard seed. And we cannot even do that.
Christmas last year, God told me to give a small bag of mustard seeds to 4 of my friends with the Scripture Mark 11:23-24. The instructions were to pray daily over it and to believe whatever it was I needed to believe God for it. Some months passed, and I received praise reports from my friends of how God had moved in their lives since receiving the mustard seeds and praying over them daily. God reminded me that I had not prepared my bag of mustard seeds and prayed over them daily. I prepared my bag and placed a few seeds on some of my prayer confessions. One of my prayer confessions was believing God would move in a mighty way to process some paperwork for me before May 1st. I taped the mustard seeds on the prayer confession and prayed over it. Within a week of doing this, I received word that my status had changed in my application process. I was able to have everything processed within a week and a half. I praise God for moving on my behalf. He said to have faith the size of a mustard seed. And I did. It is that simple. It is not hard. When you hold God to His Word, He will move. He is waiting for you.
The day I was taping the mustard seeds to my prayer confessions, my five-year-old granddaughter was watching me. She asked what the little things I was holding were. I told her they were mustard seeds. She wanted to know why I was taping them to the paper. I explained what I was doing and shared the scripture with her. I told her I was believing God for something. And God said I should have the faith the size of a mustard seed. And I believe God will hear me and answer my prayer. She then brought tears to my eyes. She said I want to write down one and tape a mustard seed to my prayer. This was a five-year-old. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”. If a five-year-old child can have faith the size of a mustard seed, then what is wrong with many of us? I let her write down her prayer. She wanted something from a fast-food restaurant the next day when she came home from school. So, I told her, okay, we will believe God will answer your prayer because you have faith the size of this mustard seed. She said okay. Let me tell you what happened. On my way home from Bible Study that night. My daughter called and said she wanted something from a fast-food restaurant, plus get my granddaughter something too. That is not all. The next day, her pawpaw gave her money to get something after school. Praise God, won’t He do it? Yes, He will. Not only did he bless her with what she prayed for, but He SUPERSIZED it. He gave her fast food that very same day and the next day. He answered her immediately. You cannot tell me that God will not answer your prayer. He heard a little girl ask for something as simple as chicken nuggets, fries, honey mustard sauce, and apple juice. He heard her cry. Do you not believe He will answer your cry, too? Can you have faith the size of a mustard seed today? A five-year-old can, so why can’t you?
