Mark 11:24 – Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Prayer changes things. This is a fact. Prayer can cause mountains to fall into the sea (Mark 11:23), it can raise the dead (John 11:41-44), and it can heal the sick (Acts 3:6-8).

What makes prayer powerful?

Prayer is powerful because of the power of God. He is the One who answers prayers. Our faith in Him gives us access to the power of prayer. Prayer without faith in the One who answers is wishing. Faith in God activates the power of prayer.

Why does faith matter?

God created the heavens, the earth, and everything that dwells within (Psalm 24:1, Genesis 1:1). God is unquestionably in control, in charge, and all powerful. His love for you is made manifest in the work of Jesus, in nature, and in His kindness to you every single day. How could we not have faith or belief in such a God; the God who made the sea (Genesis 1:10), could stop its rage (Mark 4:39), and split it in two (Exodus 14:21)? The God who healed those sick for years (Mark 5:25-29)? The God who overcame death (Mark 16:6)?

Mark 11:24

This verse is assurance of the divine exchange that faith when we pray creates: we believe, we receive. I know such a theory has been used and abused to create a mistruth – we are not unaware of the devices of the devil (2 Corinthians 2:11) – but I ask that we do not confuse the two.

One of them is asking you to believe in your power and receive, however the Bible teaches to have faith in God. With the authority of Jesus, He commanded the fig tree to wither, and it did. Jesus has given us power though His name. We don’t “look inward” for power to claim and receive. We look up to the Lord, Psalm 121, and put our faith in Him, Mark 11:22. We stand with authority as children of the Most High, true, powerful, living God to ask and believe that because of Him, we will receive.

Our faith and believing for what we pray for is not based on our skill or our power or our words. We don’t pray because we are able. We pray because God is able. We ask in the authoritative name of Jesus, and we receive because God is in control.

Believe you will receive because God is in control.

You, like me, may have asked and wondered if your request is God’s will or wondered what would happen if God doesn’t answer. Be assured that even if what we ask and believe for ends up not being God’s will, we will never be put to shame – Romans 10:11.

Your job is to pray and believe. His job is to answer. Don’t stop yourself from praying due to fear. God is our Father, and like the good father He is, He will provide what you ask for or most times (Ephesians 3:20), something better.

There is so much power in prayer. Let your faith in God lead you to pray and ask, then to believe and receive through His powerful name.

With love, Faith