Devotional Thoughts: Power of prayer

Matthew 21:20-22 is a familiar saying of Jesus. The gist is that with faith one can move mountains. It is a metaphor for God can do the impossible.

I confess, my level of faith is not super duper high. I'm very much in the "doubting Thomas" category of Christian.

However, having said that, I do believe God works in mysterious ways and in what appears to be impossible ways.

Living in Los Angeles and having lived in other big cities like San Francisco and Washington DC means I have seen people who live on the streets. In most cases, it is due to drug or alcohol abuse or both. It is a sad reality of big city life. I feel terrible when I see it.

But there are two amazing things about that circumstance.

(1) There are people who want to help these people. Los Angeles Mission and other organizations like that offer help to these individuals. In the end, I don't know how many percent of the people they serve eventually get off the streets but I admire the willingness to do it. If the world were all like me, I am sad to say, these people wouldn't get helped. I could NOT do that kind of work day in and day out. I'd go once in a while to serve food. I'd give the money. But work there all the time? Nope. I'm not proud to say it but I have to be honest, I wouldn't do it.

The people who work there are mountain movers.

(2) Some turn their lives around. Again, I don't know how many do but it happens. This past Sunday, at my church, a gentleman told the story of how he was homeless in Santa Monica. He was into drugs and alcohol and living on the streets. He was in and out of shelters. But one day, he came to Jesus by faith and his life turned around.

This kind of life change is mountain moving.

Sure, if we saw a mountain pop up and land in the sea, people would say, wow, that is amazing!

But what kind of impact would a changed life have?

Just as seemingly impossible as moving mountains.

Yet, in life, things can happen and the trajectory of people's lives become altered because of God. Somehow, I think God is more pleased to see life changed than mountains land in the water.