Believe that you have Received (Mark 11:23-24)

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours - Mark 11:23-24

This is certainly one of the most profound statements in all of the Bible.

Many people have chalked this statement up to exaggeration on Jesus's part - but I take this to be an untenable position. Either He meant what He said or He didn't.

How quick we are to soften or even alter Jesus' words when they do not fit with our experienced reality.

Jesus is clear that when we do not doubt, but believe, then we will see the answer to our prayers.

Why does it often seem like we fail to see the results we are praying for?

Quite simply it is very often because we lack faith. Many people are offended by such a proposition, but to me this offense seems unnecessary.

I have prayed prayers of healing for many people and seen nothing happen many times, and I have no problem admitting that this is most likely due to my (not their) lack of faith.

We are all on a journey of growing up into the full stature of Christ. When Jesus spoke healing over people, they were healed. Most of us, including me, are not there yet. But this should not stop us from trying to get closer every day.

Notice that Jesus does not say, "when you pray, believe that you will receive," but rather, "when you pray, believe that you have received."

Herein lies the key to successful prayer: praying according to our faith.

I may not yet have complete faith to believe that cancer will disappear immediately in someone's body, but I absolutely do have the faith to believe that God loves that person and wants to give them a deeper revelation of Himself.

Therefore, my prayer for divine revelation will carry with it more faith than my prayer for divine healing. This doesn't mean I shouldn't pray for healing - after all, God can heal even without great faith on my part, and He will often do this to remind us that the power belongs to Him, not us – but it does mean that there is greater power behind my prayer for revelation, because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is going to answer this prayer.

When we pray with 100% confidence that what we are asking for is in accordance with God's will, these prayers are overflowing with faith. And prayers that are permeated by faith will see results.

I can be far more confident that God wants to bring this person into deeper union with Him than I can be that He wants to immediately heal their body or quickly improve their financial situation. It doesn't mean we shouldn't pray for those things - I believe God wants us to - but we need to keep first things first.

And when we do keep first things first – when we make Jesus Himself our highest priority and not merely His benefits – we will often find that the rest of those things get fixed seemingly of their own accord.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you

John 15:7