Mark 11:24-25 NLT
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”
Past, present, and future; With regards to time, as human beings, where we live in time is vital to understand, and the better grip we have on this, the more effective we can be for God’s glory.
You may be saying to yourself, “John, did you get enough sleep last?”
I don’t know, but I can tell you, I was excited to get up and get into the Word of God, and I came across this scripture.
“I tell you, you can pray (present tense) for anything, and if you believe (present tense) that you’ve received (past tense) it, it will (future tense) be yours.”
How can Jesus say this?
And does it make sense?
And how can I apply this to my life?
Let’s look at the first question:
How can Jesus say this? He is God, the Creator of the universe. He has all authority over everything.
Matthew 28:18 NLT
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
My thinking on this is that when the Creator of the universe says something, it may be worth something to consider and understand IF we are genuinely interested in changing our hearts.
I’m finding that the more I listen and apply what He says, the results do come.
If they don’t, there is something on my end that is not lined up; it could be the motives of my heart, my intentions, or unresolved sin in my life.
So let’s break this down:
“I tell you,” who tells us? Jesus, God, the Creator of the universe, tells us. This fact should carry substantial weight for us.
Sometimes, we may say to ourselves, “Sure, Jesus, that’s easy for You to say; You created everything.” The problem with that thinking is that He is authorizing us to be able to do this. He is transferring the ability to do this to us.
If we feel unworthy of this privilege, we need to bring this before Jesus and ask Him to help us past that.
“You can pray for anything” – Let’s think about what we may pray for.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT
Never stop praying.
The question, at this point, would be, why?
Is it for us to give us comfort? (Probably not in line with God’s purpose)
Is it to get a life-saving operation for a family member? (Maybe for God’s purpose)
The reasons and intentions of what we pray for are going to mean a lot to God. If what we pray for is going to glorify God, it will undoubtedly mean more to God.
Is this something that will only happen if God shows up?
We should make every effort on our end without imposing our will on someone else’s life to accomplish all we can. And this then needs to be followed up by full faith that God will bridge the gap.
Doing this covers the next part of this scripture, “if you believe.” This part is faith.
This part of the scripture stuck out to me when I read this:
“you’ve received it.” “Received it?” this means that you already have it. It is something that you already have.
I think what this means is that the work is already done.
John 19:30 NLT
When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Philippians 1:6 NLT
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
This thought is a hard one to wrap our minds around, but God is not bound by time, but until He comes or we are brought home, we are bound by time.
When you think about this, eternity has already started for us; we are already with God.
The challenge, we find ourselves still in this world. We struggle with our old sinful nature. We have habits that again rear their ugly head.
With this scripture, we are called to believe that anything that we seek that is in line with the Spirit of God, we already have. We haven’t experienced it yet.
And until we experience this in our lives, we set our sights on the coming glory of Jesus Christ, knowing that it is coming, while letting go of what is holding us back.
If all of that is not enough, here comes the clincher:
“But when you are praying, FIRST forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
This theme is repeated in scripture in several areas, here and about sharing in the Lord’s supper.
Holding a grudge against another is the most harmful thing that we can do. Doing this is the one thing that can separate us from God’s blessing in our lives.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your promise.
I pray that You keep my heart in a position to forgive others as quickly as I am offended.
Oh Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive. Please let this be the way of my heart.
I thank You for those around me, especially for those who challenge my faith and cause me to grow in grace.
I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!! 🙏❤️
