Mark 11

"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."  Mark 11:23-25

In the home where I used to live hung a sign which read, "Let prayer be the KEY that opens and closes your day."  I think this sign was suggesting that prayer should permeate our entire day from beginning to end.  The sign was suggesting that prayer is the key to a joyful, abundant, and productive life.  It is so tempting to rush into our day's activities without prayer.  Prayer, however, is a powerful tool given to us by the Lord.  Often we do not begin to tap into the full power prayer can have in our lives.

Mark chapter eleven verses twenty-two through twenty-four are powerful verses.  They tell us that we need to approach the Lord in prayer with faith and trust.  If we do this, the Lord will remove the "mountains" or what we deem to be impossible circumstances or obstacles from our lives.  The Lord will remove these difficult situations in our lives, or He will give us the grace and strength to walk through those difficult situations.

He will do this through the power of prayer.  In verse twenty-four of Mark chapter eleven Jesus says,"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."  God can hear our prayers and do what we think is impossible. Wonderful things have been accomplished through the power of prayer for those who are the children of God.

We do need to pray according to the Lord's will, however.  God knows what is best for us.  A parent would not give a knife to a toddler, if he or she asked for it.  In the same way, our Lord will not give us things that are not good for us.  He loves us that much!  According to Mark chapter eleven verse twenty-five we also need to not have an unforgiving spirit towards others, if we want to be an effective prayer warrior.  Further, if we want to be an effective prayer warrior, we need to show evidence of a relationship with the Lord and of spiritual fruit in our lives.  Jesus condemned the fig tree for not producing fruit in Mark chapter eleven verses twelve through fourteen.  So we too must produce spiritual fruit in our lives, if we hope to be powerful spiritual warriors.

Our trusting prayers to the Lord will open wide the storehouses of heaven!  By our complete dependence on the Lord the door is open to the presence of the Lord and to all His answers to prayer in our lives!  Our helplessness united with faith in the Lord produces prayers that are pleasing to the Lord.  If we approach the Lord in trustful prayers, it will also bring about wonderful answers to prayer!  We prove the all-sufficiency of the Lord when we ask for what we think is impossible, and the Lord honors those prayers!