22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:22-26
In this familar passage, Jesus affirms God's power to do the impossible. Jesus reminds us here to have faith in God! We can pray for anything and God will grant it. However there are certain heart conditions that must be met on our part.
First, we must believe. Jesus emphasizes the importance of our believing in two of these verses. We must believe that what we are praying for will REALLY HAPPEN. We must believe that we have ALREADY RECEIVED IT! If we are praying unselfishly for something within the will of God, no matter how impossible it seems, God will make it happen!
Second, don't doubt. We may say we believe. We may think we believe. But then comes that nagging, tugging doubt that tries to gain a foothold. We pray, but then we run through "What if?" scenarios in our mind. However, we're talking the God of the Universe here! He created EVERYTHING! All things exist because of HIM! So I think He can handle whatever we are praying for. But then there is the doubt that God even hears our prayers. We can be assured that He does listen. Psalm 116:1-2 gives us a beautiful illustration of how our loving Father listens to us when we pray. It says, "I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" There is absolutely no room for doubt in our hearts. When those feelings come, we must reaffirm our belief in our EVERLASTING and ALL POWERFUL Father who CAN DO ANYTHING! We can seek His mercy and confess to Him any sin so that our prayers are unhindered. Think about it, the God of Creation, bends down to listen to you!
Third, we are to forgive. Unforgiveness is another hindrance to our prayers. Why? Because God is so very merciful and willing to forgive us. We can not be in right standing with Him if we are unforgiving and unmerciful toward others. Therefore, we must first forgive and seek God's forgiveness! Can you think of anyone you need to forgive? Perhaps there is someone you need to ask forgiveness of as well? Ask God to help you be more merciful and forgiving. He will be faithful to answer this prayer!
Effective prayer begins with an attitude of faith, forgiveness, and submission. We can pray for the impossible and God can make it possible, "For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37. God is much larger than any of the mountains in our lives. He can toss them into the sea if we just have the faith of a mustard seed! Pray with confidence and assurance in our wonderful God! Trust God to move the mountain in your life today!
In His Love, Cathy
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