When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for. (Mk 11:24)
This morning ,I stopped awhile and thought of that passage as it relates to many of our dreams in life. And I was amazed at the truth I was staring at. It’s very simple yet many people often miss it. It’s actually a formula Jesus gave to us to get whatever we want in our life.
When i read it again and and again & ponder upon it for awhile. There is a formula there.
Do you see it?
If you are mathematically challenged then here it is.
Ask + Believe = Receive
I’ve read this passage so many times in the past and still I missed this until now. Here’s how I see it.All of us want something for our lives. It can be material or otherwise. Perhaps a better job, healing from sickness, pass an exam, or go abroad.
And the way we go about asking God these things is through prayer. And I don’t just mean praying it once, we pray it many times. We pray and ask for these things everyday. We pray unceasingly.
Is there anything wrong with that? YES and NO!No because God actually told us to pray at all times (Rom 12:12)
Yes it’s wrong because many of us approach prayer with the wrong attitude. Listen to how you present your request to God the next time you pray. I’m sure it begins with something similar to this tone.
Lord, I pray that you may grant me…
Lord, I ask you to help me in…
Lord, I want to lift up to you…
Sounds familiar? I know I’m guilty too.
I call this "praying to ask". But here is the thing that blew my mind, WE NEVER LACK IN ASKING! There is an abundance of asking prayers.
If you look at the formula above what we lack is BELIEVING! And that is the reason we don’t receive.
Not wanting to get too preachy here, so here’s my suggestion. If we want to receive the things we requested from God, we better start adding what’s missing. Let’s start "praying to believe".
Here are two things we can do to start "praying to believe".
1. Stop presenting your request to God. He already knows it because you said it a million times already.
2. Start a thanksgiving prayer as if you have already received your request. Do not even think that the answer is coming. Feel that the answer is already there.
Put this formula to work and watch your prayers get answered!
