by Kayla Kennada
Mark 11:23-24 tells us what it really means to believe.
There is a difference between knowing something and truly believing it. Most of us have heard the Word of God. We’ve sat in services, read the scriptures, and nodded along in agreement. But knowing the Word and believing the Word are two entirely different things — and that difference changes everything.
The Gap Between the Head and the Heart
Jesus told His disciples that whoever speaks to a mountain, commands it to move, and does not doubt in their heart will see it happen (Mark 11:23). The key phrase is “does not doubt in his heart.” Notice — not in his head. The battle for belief is not primarily intellectual. It’s a matter of the heart.
The apostle Paul confirms this in Romans 10:10: “It is with the heart that man believes unto righteousness.” There’s a term theologians use to describe this distinction — the difference between the Logos and the Rhema word. The Logos is the written Word stored in your mind. It’s knowledge or information. But the Rhema is the Word that has moved from your mind into your heart. That’s revelation. It’s the difference between religion and Kingdom living.
When the Word is only in your head, you know about God. When it reaches your heart, you know God — and you begin to walk in His authority.
Unbelief Is Not Just Doubt — It’s Disobedience
We often treat unbelief as simply a lack of confidence, a shrug of the shoulders toward the promises of God. But Scripture paints a much more serious picture.
In Nazareth, Jesus “could not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). The Son of God was limited. Not because He lacked power, but because they lacked belief. And Mark 6:6 tells us something striking: Jesus marveled at their unbelief. It stopped Him in His tracks.
Hebrews 11:6 states “But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Unbelief keeps us from receiving all that Jesus provided for us by enduring death on the cross and rising from the dead. That must be displeasing for Father to witness us missing out on all the plans and provision that He has for us.
The Greek word for unbelief in the New Testament carries two meanings: unfaithfulness and rebellion. Both are forms of disobedience. When the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land, it wasn’t simply fear. It was unbelief. And Hebrews 3:19 says it cost them everything. They couldn’t enter His rest because they wouldn’t trust His Word.
God was grieved. He said in Hebrews 3:10 that they “erred in their hearts and did not know His ways.” Notice it was erring in the heart not just the mind. And here is a sobering question: how many times have we chosen to struggle, worry, and stress when God had already spoken a word over our situation? Every time we do, we are, in effect, refusing to believe Him.
Faith Is Not a Feeling — It’s Action
The Greek word for faith is pistis. (Strong’s 4102). That means persuasion or a deep, settled conviction of the truthfulness of God. It is not wishful thinking or positive thinking. Faith is a rock-solid trust that causes you to move.
James 2:14-26 makes this unmistakably clear: true faith is always evidenced by works. “Show me your faith,” James challenges. Faith without action is dead faith. And dead faith doesn’t work.
Think about the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5). She would not have been healed if she had simply hoped for it from a distance. Pressing through the crowd, she acted on her belief. She touched the hem of His garment. Then the power of God flowed.
Conversely, James 1:6-8 warns against the double-minded person. The one who asks God for something but wavers in their belief. That person, James says bluntly, should not expect to receive anything. Wavering is not a small problem. It is spiritual instability that cuts off the flow of God’s provision.
The Power of Speaking What You Believe
Mark 11:24 connects belief to prayer: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Saying and praying are meant to work together with believing. Without belief, words are empty and prayers go unanswered.
Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing — specifically, by hearing the Word of Christ. But not everyone who hears believes. The Israelites heard the Word repeatedly in the wilderness. They had seen miracle after miracle. And yet, after all of that, they still couldn’t believe for their present situation. They had faith for a future promise, but not “now” faith for the moment they were standing in.
Many believers are the same way today. We trust God for salvation but struggle to trust Him for today’s provision, today’s healing, today’s breakthrough. We’ve heard the Word. We just haven’t let it move from our heads into our hearts.
Walking in Kingdom Authority
When Jesus encountered the Roman centurion in Matthew 8, He marveled — not at unbelief this time, but at faith. The centurion understood something most people miss: authority. He knew that when someone with authority speaks, things happen. He believed Jesus had that authority, and Jesus honored his faith.
This is Kingdom living. The Greek word for Kingdom (basileia, Strong’s 932) means royalty, rule, realm, and reign. As children of God, we are royalty. We have been given authority on this earth. So we live in the world, but operate from the spiritual realm, seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). We are kings and priests in His Kingdom.
But this only works when we have revelation of who we are in Christ — not just information about it. Many believers know the doctrine but haven’t received the revelation. And without revelation, we live far below what God has made available to us.
Building Your Faith
So how do we build faith? How do we get the Word from our heads into our hearts?
First, read the Word consistently and ask God to reveal it to you. Matthew 6:33 says to seek the Kingdom or seek revelation. Ask, seek, knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).
Second, pray in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:4 says that speaking in tongues edifies — builds up — the believer. Jude 20 calls it “building up yourselves on your most holy faith.” When you pray in tongues, you are exercising your faith. Paul said he spoke in tongues more than anyone (1 Corinthians 14:18), and it shows. His letters contain some of the most faith-filled declarations in all of Scripture.
Praying in the Spirit moves you. It stirs up conviction. It connects the Word in your head to the belief in your heart. And when the two align, Kingdom things begin to happen.
A Final Word
There are times when life comes at us hard and we forget who we are. We forget whose we are. One old worship song put it simply: “Tell me once again who I am to You — tell me, lest I forget, that I belong to You.”
When doubt creeps in, return to the Word. Build yourself back up in the Holy Ghost. Let the Logos become Rhema. Let it move from your mind into the deep places of your heart. Because when you truly believe, when you speak it and act on it without wavering, the mountains really do move.
Not because of your strength. But because you trusted His.
Romans 10:11 “Whosoever believes shall not be ashamed.
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