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How to get ANYTHING you ask for in prayer!
Mark 11:22-26 (World English Bible) says:
{11:22} Jesus answering said to them, "Have faith in God. {11:23}
For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be
taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his heart, but
believes that what he says happens; he shall have whatever he says.
{11:24} Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for,
believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. {11:25}
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against
anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you
your transgressions. {11:26} But if you do not forgive, neither will
your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions."
The above passage has a LOT of truth about prayer packed into it. If you
meditate on the above passage, I guarantee you that you will see the glory of
God in the answers to your prayers!
Jesus tells us first of all to "Have faith in God." We place our faith in God.
We trust in, cling to, rely on, and believe God. We have faith in God, and not
in our wealth or natural strength. This isn't hard, because God always tells
the truth. Jesus said I AM the truth. God is powerful enough to keep His Word.
After all, he made the heavens and the earth!
In Mark 11:23, Jesus says: "For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell
this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his
heart, but believes that what he says happens; he shall have whatever he
says."
I really feel no need to rearrange the landscape, but there are other
"mountains" that I would like to move. I'd like to see God's people all
healthy, truly free in Jesus Christ, and well provided for. I'd like to see
the Great Commission fully accomplished in my lifetime. This means that I need
to move some mountains of sickness, deformity, injury, bondage, and poverty
out of people's lives. I'd like to move whatever barriers to the spread of the
Gospel there may be (political, linguistic, monetary, logistical, etc.) out of
the way.
Now this is where people might think you are strange if you follow Jesus. Who
would think that talking to inanimate objects like mountains (of rock or of
debt) would do any good? Jesus said it would. Remember, just before the above
passage, Jesus spoke to a fig tree, and the fig tree died. I know of another
man who lived not long ago who spoke to his orange grove in Florida during a
severe freeze, and commanded his trees not to freeze, but to live. Sure
enough, his trees lived and bore fruit that season, but adjacent orchards on
every side froze and died. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be like
Jesus and talk to a tree and be saved from an economic disaster than worry
about what people think of me!
"...and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says happens..."
Note that Jesus spoke of not doubting in your heart (or in your spirit).
Doubting thoughts may (and will) come into your mind, but when your heart
doesn't doubt, but believes, then you can quickly dismiss such doubting
thoughts, and they will do no harm.
"...but believes that what he says happens..."
How can you believe what you say happens? By basing what you say on God's
Word, and walking in obedience to God's Holy Spirit. Romans 10:17 says: "So
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." When we say what is
in line with God's Word, we have a solid basis for our faith, because God is
faithful. Likewise, when the Holy Spirit prompts you to say something (and the
Holy Spirit will not contradict the Holy Bible He inspired), then you have a
solid basis for your faith.
"...he shall have whatever he says."
Be careful! This is something that traps many Christians! Make sure that what
you say, both in prayer and in normal conversation, always agrees with God's
Word and with what you believe. Some people may pray for healing, and then
turn around and then say "I'm so sick I'll never recover" or "Please pray for
me, I'm dying of ______." By doing so, people (1) demonstrate that they really
don't believe that they are healed, and (2) they are saying they are sick, so
naturally they have sickness. No, if I start to feel sick, I say that by
Jesus' stripes I was healed (1 Peter 2:24), and I believe that I really was
healed, no matter what my body may say. When I do that, the symptoms of
sickness always go away. Always. (I have never called in sick at my current
job, because I have never needed to.) If you have a disease, disorder, or
injury, make sure that what comes out of your mouth is about your healing and
not your problem -- unless you want to stay sick or injured. Some people
prefer to be disabled. They would rather enjoy the sympathy, attention,
disability pay, etc., than be healed, feel good, and be able to be productive.
There isn't much to do for those folks, but get them into the Word of God
until some sense sinks in. Others really want to be well, but they don't know
any better, or don't believe their words matter. There is hope for this crowd,
as they learn of God's goodness through Bible study and the direction of the
Holy Spirit.
"Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for,
believe that you receive them, and you shall have them."
Note that this is not a science experiment. We aren't trying to see, or saying
"IF" God wants to heal. No, we have to believe we receive what we ask for
before we have them. You believe that you receive [present tense] them, and
you shall have [future tense] them. Now faith is assurance of things hoped
for, proof of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). If we saw the answer to our
prayer first, then believed, that would be science, but not faith. No, we
believe first, based on God, His integrity, and His Word; and then we see the
answer. As it stands, we must believe before we see.
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so
that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your
transgressions."
Unforgiveness will block your prayers and backfire to you. The cost of holding
a grudge against someone -- anyone -- even if they have done you grievous
wrong -- is just way too high. Nobody but Jesus Christ has managed to live
totally without sin. The rest of us humans need our Father's forgiveness. We
MUST forgive who? ANYONE you have ANYTHING against! I don't care if they
offended you by wearing mismatched socks to your wedding or if they murdered
someone in your family. You must forgive them. That doesn't mean that you say
that what they did was OK, or that it wasn't wrong. It means that you decide
to no longer hold it against them, just like God did with us. Unforgiveness
festers into bitterness that can destroy your prayer life and your health.
Forgiveness fosters love, healed relationships, peace, health, and an open
communication line with our Father in heaven. Forgiveness isn't a feeling, but
a decision. I may still feel bad about something someone did to me, but I
still choose to forgive that person.
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