Post by Oluwatosin Oni (@oloriireoni)

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL 18 MAY 2026 COMMENTARY
MEMORISE: Matthew 21:21
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”

This verse reveals the extraordinary potential of faith-filled words. Jesus does not say “if you pray about the mountain” or “if you ask God to remove the mountain.” He says, “if you say to this mountain, Be thou removed.” Your words, when backed by unwavering faith, carry creative power. The mountain is not a metaphor for a small problem—it is a mountain. Jesus is saying that no obstacle is too large when faith speaks.

BIBLE READING: Matthew 17:19-20
“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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.”

This passage follows the disciples’ failure to cast out a demon from a boy. They had been given authority to cast out demons, but in this case, they failed. When they asked Jesus why, He gave a one-word answer: unbelief. Not lack of authority, not lack of power, not lack of technique—unbelief. He then explained that even faith as small as a mustard seed (the tiniest of seeds) is enough to move mountains. The problem was not the size of their faith—it was the presence of unbelief.

The Power of God’s Word vs. The Problem of Unbelief
In today’s devotional, Pastor E.A. Adeboye (Daddy Adeboye) addresses one of the most critical barriers to experiencing God’s power: unbelief. The word of God is living, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. All things were created by God’s word. But when that same word is spoken in unbelief, it cannot be expected to produce results. Faith activates the word; unbelief neutralizes it.

The Spirit of Doubt and Unbelief
The devotional identifies a spiritual enemy that many believers do not recognize: the spirit of doubt and unbelief. This spirit does not just cause intellectual uncertainty—it actively undermines the power of God’s word in your heart.

What this spirit does:

It makes you feel that the word of God is ordinary—just another book, just another collection of ancient sayings.
It makes you begin to think that God’s word is not true—that the promises are exaggerated, that the miracles were for Bible times only.
It fills your heart with uncertainty—you are not sure if God will really do what He said.
It undermines the power of God’s word in your mouth—so that even when you speak scripture, it comes out weak and ineffective.
The devotional prays: “If the spirit of doubt and unbelief is tormenting you, I pray that it will leave you right now, in Jesus’ name.”

The Power That Resides in You
The devotional reminds us of 1 John 4:4: “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

God lives within you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in your mortal body. You are not ordinary. You are not weak. You are not at the mercy of your circumstances.

This is the absolute truth about you:

You are above poverty.
You are above destruction.
You are above every problem the world can throw at you.
Why? Not because you are strong, but because God’s power resides in you. And you can leverage that power to subdue negative situations. You can speak to mountains, and they will move. You can command demons, and they will flee. You can declare healing, and sickness will leave.

But unbelief blocks the flow. Your faith is the switch that turns on the power. Unbelief is the switch that turns it off.

The Pattern of Faith-Filled Command
The devotional points to two examples of faith-filled words producing miraculous results:

Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43):
He arrived at the house where people were weeping and wailing.
He drove out the mourners—the voices of unbelief and despair.
He took the parents and His disciples into the room.
He simply said, “Talitha cumi” (Damsel, I say unto thee, arise).
The dead girl rose immediately.
Peter raising Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42):

He followed the same pattern.
He sent the mourners out of the room.
He knelt and prayed.
He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise.”
She opened her eyes and sat up.
Notice the pattern: Both Jesus and Peter removed the influence of unbelief (the mourners) before speaking the word of faith. Then they spoke directly to the situation—not to God about the situation, but to the dead body itself. They commanded, not requested. They spoke with authority.

The Mustard Seed Faith
Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed is enough to move mountains. This is encouraging because it means you do not need “great faith.” You just need genuine faith.
https://rccglive.com/open-heaven-18

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