Part Five: "The Powerful Potential of Our Prayers" (Mark 11:20-24)

In conclusion, let's examine Mark 11:24. It reads, "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." The words of this verse are about the confidence concerning the content of our prayers. The content is seen in the phrase, "all things for which you pray and ask" and in 1 John 5:14 the content is seen in the phrase, "ask anything according to His will." In other words God hears us in both! Let's examine a passage in the Psalms to find out why this is so. Our passage says, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it" (Psalm 37:3-5). Does this passage promise that God will give us anything we desire? If you listen to some folks, the answer is yes! However, we've seen through other passages about our requests and desires that the answer is a resounding NO IT DOES NOT! Let's examine the heart of this person. The psalmist says this person is trusting in the Lord, doing good, feeding on the Lord's faithfulness, delighting in the Lord, and has committed his or her way to the Lord! This sounds like a person who is truly captivated by the Lord! What would be the desires of your heart if you were this person? I believe they'd be based on the very will of God! In other words, when we're truly delighting ourselves in the Lord, the things that we desire will be according to His will! Let's be encouraged to pray! Let's pray because we want to know God better. Let's pray to know our own hearts more fully. Let's pray to be conformed to the image of God's Son. Let's pray to acknowledge our dependence on God. Prayer is a wonderful gift and privilege from God. There truly are countless reasons to pray. Let's be a people of prayer! It doesn't get any better than this! Praise God forevermore! Your move. Be encouraged!