“Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24
Prayer is not a hit or miss proposition in the sight of God. The Lord Jesus makes this very clear when He speaks so specifically of receiving that for which we pray. Not only does He speak of the fact of receiving an answer to one or two prayers, but He addresses the entirety of one’s prayer life. In addition to this, He breaches the barrier of what we might think is great or small with respect to the subject of prayer, making it very clear that whether we are praying concerning a fig tree, or the removal of a mountain, they are all the same to God. The size of the subject is not the issue. It is rather the quality of faith specifically exercised, a faith having its entire basis in the faithfulness of God to accomplish that which He promises, but also, according to the knowledge of His good and perfect will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. God answers prayer just as certainly as He works according to His blessed design and purpose. Isaiah communicated the Lord’s words and promises in this regard: “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall NOT return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (55:11) So, we see that the principle of God’s faithfulness to fulfill His will and word is certain, as certain as He is holy and true. So where to we begin in this matter of effective prayer which God answers in order to glorify His name?
The first thing that must be done before we begin seeking the Lord concerning the knowledge of His will concerning any matter, is seeking Him alone for the grace and mercy to take an absolute position of faith in Him. This is what we see here in this passage in the gospel of Mark. Though the Lord will speak of fig trees and mountains afterwards, the first thing is taking a position of faith in God. It is a committal of all that we are and have, to believe Him according to the revelation of His Person and nature in Christ, and also according to the revelation of Himself through and by His word. This faith is a very personal faith, a faith born in the quiet place of aloneness with the Father. Why? That which is not received in aloneness with God will never overcome obstacles to it in the world, as one faces faithlessness and opposition to faith. This why the Lord begins with, “Have faith in God.” (11:22) David would put it a little differently, “Trust in the Lord, and do good.” (Ps. 37:3) True believing prayer begins by the revelation of Christ to the heart in aloneness with Him, according to His word, for there the new, fresh vision of Christ in His faithfulness is revealed to the heart.
Secondly, true believing prayer is always according to the revealed will of God, as discovered in His word. When Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, and trusted the Lord for His fire to fall from heaven, consuming the sacrifice, he declared in his prayer before the people that he did these things according to the word of the Lord. As Elijah was independently dependent on God for the fulfillment of His will, so the man of prayer must be. Also, we must take note that in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he writes the following: “…He (the Spirit of God) maketh intercession for us according to the will of God.” (8:27) What does this mean to us, and what is its application to the believer’s life? The written word of God has been given to us to “objectively” know the will of God. However, coupled with that knowledge is the working of the Spirit of God, to reveal to us its specific application.
Dear Father, Quicken us to pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.