READ: Deuteronomy 3, 4; Psalm 78; Mark 11:20-33
SCRIPTURE: Mark 11: 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
OBSERVATION: The above scripture passage teaches us two important lessons about prayer. Firstly, when we ask something in our prayers to God, we need to believe that we have received it. Then we will have it. Many modern day "Word of Faith" and "Hyper Grace" preachers give their own interpretations to this verse and mislead many Christians. Our God is not someone who just waits for our prayers to execute our words immediately. He is not a vending machine or a Robot to act upon our commanding prayers of our selfish heart. In Mark 10, we already saw what Jesus did to his disciples who came with a demand of "whatever we ask." Here in Mark 11:24, the word "whatever" does not mean that we can ask God whatever we want. If so, it would lead to materialism. We are expected to pray for what we need, not what we greed. Nothing satisfies one's greediness. When we pray in line with God's word and will, we can believe that we received, and will have it in HIS time. Jesus encourages us to pray, for he loves to commune with us.
Secondly, when we pray, we are expected to forgive others who did things against us. Many Christians think that it is practically impossible. They ask questions like, how can I, why, what wrong I did, and so on. In vengeance and bitterness, some even pray against the people whom they find it hard to forgive. Here, Jesus tells us that if you want to receive forgiveness from heaven, forgive others. Do not hold anything against anyone. Unforgiveness is actually a painful self-punishment. As long as we do not forgive others, it is we who experience more pains than the people we did not forgive. When we expect God to forgive our sins, what is wrong for God to expect us to forgive the petty sins or things that others committed against us. Forgiving people is actually set us free from many pressing things and helps us to experience God's forgiveness, joy and peace.
APPLICATION: When I pray, I will ask God to give me whatever he desires. The word of God helps me to understand his heart and desires. Even if a person who is against me does not ask for a forgiveness, I will be ready to forgive him/her. When I forgive others, God sees it and honors it by forgiving me. When I do this two, it increases my confidence of God's acceptance of my prayers.
PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for these two wonderful pearls regarding prayer. Give me your wisdom and strength to ask "whatever" rightly in prayer, and to forgive others without any grudge. Amen.
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