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Mark 11:22-25 King James Version

“22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

     This frequently quoted passage contains four very powerful lessons concerning prayer and faith.  From this passage we learn the following: our faith must be in God, we must speak to our problems, we believe that we have our answer when we pray, and we must walk in forgiveness.

     Our faith must be in God.  Too many Christians have faith in their faith.  They believe that if they confess God’s word enough times, their prayers will be answered.  In other words, their faith is in the promises of God but not in God himself.  A promise is only as sure as the one who is making it.  We believe in the promises found in the Bible because we trust that our Father is true to his word.  God cannot lie, and his love for us is too great for us to comprehend.  Our trust is in God, and he must be the focus of our faith.

     Too many times we simply pray about our problems.  Prayer is very important, but prayer is often the initial step.  After we receive confirmation from God, we must speak God’s word into our situation.  Many times, we will not see God’s power manifested until we start to speak his word into our life.

     The point made in verse 24 is easily missed.  We believe that God has answered our prayer when we have prayed.  In other words, we do not believe that our prayer has been answered when we see the manifestation of our desire.  We must realize that the spiritual realm created the physical realm, and God answers our prayers in the spiritual realm before we see the physical manifestation.  When we bring a request to God, and we know from God’s Spirit that we have what we are asking for, we must believe that God has answered our prayer before we see the physical evidence.

     God does not bless us based on our conduct.  This fact is very hard for most Christians to receive.  God blesses us because of his grace, and we receive his promises based on our standing in Christ.  However, sin makes our receiving from God very difficult.  Verse 25 speaks of the sin of not forgiving those who have wronged us.  We need to repent of our sin and receive God’s cleansing from the damage done to us by our sins.  And when we walk according to God’s word, we will have no hindrances to receiving from our Father.

     When we have faith in God and walk according to his word, we will see God’s power manifested in our lives.  Speak God’s word over your life, and be assured that God has given to you what he has promised.