Mark 11:24-25
The key to prayer isn’t the words you speak or how long you are in conversation with God; the faith you have in the Lord you serve and over the situation you face determines whether or not your prayer reaches the ears of the almighty or stops at your ceiling… Mark reminds us that just as much as we desire we must believe… “…when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them…” This passage taken from the gospel of Mark speaks to the heart of a Christian; in that, we may go to God in prayer, but we must have faith and not doubt… In the verses before these scriptures, Jesus has made is entry into Jerusalem and while in Bethany went up to a fig tree that had no fruit(when Jesus arrived, the tree wasn’t prepared but that’s for a later day and time), in front of His disciples Jesus cursed the fig tree and when the men returned they found that the tree had withered (died)… The disciples were amazed, but Jesus goes on to tell them that we (as believers) have the ability to do miraculous things (move mountains),but we must have faith in God and not waver about His abilities… Whatever you ask of God believe that He not only hears you, but will respond to your prayer…
The bible declares in the book of Acts that we are to come BOLDLY to the throne of Grace. We have to have an attitude that God is not only in charge, but that He will fulfill the desires and needs of our heart. Notice the scripture tells us that whatever we desire, when we pray we must believe. So many go to God in prayer, but in our heart we do not believe that He holds the world in his hands, often we go to Him in prayer and if things aren’t changed right away we doubt His supremacy, we call on the Lord, but don’t not have the Faith of one who knows the miracles and blessings that God can and does perform. It is not enough to go to the Lord and lay your burdens down, if you do not believe that he is going to pick them up and carry them for you. The bible declares “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith is essential to life and liberty… To believe something, means you accept it as truth, I don’t know about you, but I believe that Jesus died on the cross, I believe that He paid sins penalty, and I accept as truth the message Jesus gave to his disciples after His resurrection when he said, “ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN ME!” Faith requires trusting God and also extending helping hands to your adversaries…
Notice what Mark says,“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any:” We must be willing to go before the Lord and admit our faults, but more importantly forgive those who have wronged us (faith comes in trusting God to deliver and also trusting God to mend). So many of us carry the offense of another on our shoulders or in our hearts and because of that there is no room for God to work in our lives. We hold on to pain, we hold on to hurt, and wonder why God has not moved in our lives. In short, don’t carry grudges because all they do is occupy your thoughts and take up residence where God would like to be… We must understand that people will always upset you, people will always offend you, and people will always hurt you. Remember God said whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, so forgive and forget, so God can do the same for you on earth, but more importantly when you go from labor to reward! God will open doors in you life that you never thought possible, but you must be willing to close the doors of malice, resentment and anger first; this requires faith that believes and never doubts…
ALL FOR HIS GLORY!
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