“Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-26
As Christians we have been told how important it is to pray about any matter we are perplexed about or need an answer to. We have been told to simply “ask and you shall receive.” And, for the most part, many Christians can paraphrase the verse in Mark 11:23 which says, if we ask in prayer for a mountain to move, believing in faith it will move, our prayer will be answered. Not necessarily a physical mountain, but a problem appearing mountainous in our lives. However, there is one small caveat that has been somehow overlooked; one that has a concrete connection to the prayer response we so desperately desire from God.
In the selected verse above, Jesus begins the verse by saying whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you shall receive it, and you shall have it. However, He goes on to state, as you are praying, you must forgive anyone whom you may have an issue against, so that God may forgive you. If you do not forgive, God will not forgive you for the acts committed against Him.
This was a huge awakening for me. I realized a long time ago that the same statement is in the Lord’s Prayer; however, I do not believe I ever made its connection to the many personal requests, pleas, or petitions I earnestly placed before God for an answer. Forgiveness is not about the other person, it is about YOU. I do not know about you, but I just may have a list of people blocking my many prayer requests; because, I have been too stubborn to forgive them.
What about you? Is there a dam filled with blessings waiting to be released to you, yet lingers in limbo, because you have been too stubborn to forgive? Maybe the very act of forgiveness should be this year’s gift to yourself. L.
Study Reference: Mark 11:23-26
From: "A Gift to Yourself." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
photo: wild at heart
As Christians we have been told how important it is to pray about any matter we are perplexed about or need an answer to. We have been told to simply “ask and you shall receive.” And, for the most part, many Christians can paraphrase the verse in Mark 11:23 which says, if we ask in prayer for a mountain to move, believing in faith it will move, our prayer will be answered. Not necessarily a physical mountain, but a problem appearing mountainous in our lives. However, there is one small caveat that has been somehow overlooked; one that has a concrete connection to the prayer response we so desperately desire from God.
In the selected verse above, Jesus begins the verse by saying whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you shall receive it, and you shall have it. However, He goes on to state, as you are praying, you must forgive anyone whom you may have an issue against, so that God may forgive you. If you do not forgive, God will not forgive you for the acts committed against Him.
This was a huge awakening for me. I realized a long time ago that the same statement is in the Lord’s Prayer; however, I do not believe I ever made its connection to the many personal requests, pleas, or petitions I earnestly placed before God for an answer. Forgiveness is not about the other person, it is about YOU. I do not know about you, but I just may have a list of people blocking my many prayer requests; because, I have been too stubborn to forgive them.
What about you? Is there a dam filled with blessings waiting to be released to you, yet lingers in limbo, because you have been too stubborn to forgive? Maybe the very act of forgiveness should be this year’s gift to yourself. L.
Study Reference: Mark 11:23-26
From: "A Gift to Yourself." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
photo: wild at heart
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