The point was the size. A mustard seed is close to the smallest thing a farmer in Galilee would ever plant. Jesus was not telling them they needed a great deal of faith. He was telling them that what they had was already enough to work with.
Historical Context
The image appears twice in the Gospels, used two ways. In the parable, the tiny seed grows into a plant birds can nest in: small beginnings, large results. In the saying about faith, the seed stays small and is still enough. A mustard seed prayer can lean on either.
A Mustard Seed Prayer for More Faith
Lord, increase my faith.
I know it is small.
You said small is enough to start with,
so take what I have and let it grow.
Plant it deep, water it,
and let it become something
others can rest in.
Amen.
When Your Faith Feels Very Small
Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief.
Some days I am not sure of anything,
and I am praying anyway.
Let that count.
Let the little I have be the seed,
and do the growing yourself.
Amen.
The first two lines are the prayer of a desperate father in Mark 9, whose son was sick. Jesus healed the boy anyway. Half-faith, honestly admitted, was enough.
A Prayer Before Something That Feels Impossible
Lord, this mountain is not moving.
I have pushed and argued and worried,
and it is still there.
I bring you faith the size of a seed
and lay it down in front of it.
Move it, or move me,
or show me the way around.
Amen.
How to Pray With a Mustard Seed
Some people carry a mustard seed in a pocket, a locket or a small glass charm. That is a good reminder and nothing more. The seed does not carry luck or power; the point of it is that it is tiny. When you touch it, pray one line, “Lord, increase my faith,” and let it remind you that he works with very little. You can buy mustard seed in any grocery store.
Best Times for This Prayer
- When you are facing a decision or a diagnosis that feels too big.
- In a long season of unanswered prayer.
- When you are going through doubt and want to keep praying.
- When starting something small: a ministry, a business, a new habit of prayer.
- As a daily one-line prayer with a mustard seed in your pocket.
Scripture Connection
“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” — Luke 17:5–6
A tree planted in the sea is deliberately absurd. Jesus picks something that cannot happen to show that the size of the result has nothing to do with the size of the faith. The power is God’s; faith is just the hand held out.
Related prayers
For a short scriptural prayer to say in a hard moment, see the 4 Sentence Prayer of Daniel. If doubt has turned into something heavier, the Prayer for Depression is written for that.