I pray hard at times and no movement occurs. So I must admit to the skepticism that creeps in with these words from Jesus: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

I understand that God answers prayers—He has answered some of mine—but not every prayer all the time. God responds based on his all-encompassing power, but also limited by his love. He may not want me to have all that I desire.

There’s another aspect Jesus brings up about prayer that I conveniently overlook. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

I offer effective prayer to the sovereign God only when I couple my requests with a willingness to forgive. Perhaps my doddering prayer life results from such a lack of forgiveness? It’s not for nothing that Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

To forgive as we have been forgiven forms a bedrock concept for a follower of Jesus. I need the Holy Spirit’s help to forgive, just as I need help to pray and believe and see mountains finally move around me.

Mark 11 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Chris Liverani