For Christians: Do you believe in Mark 11:24?

Question

If so, what happens to your faith when it doesn't happen? I mean, it SAYS, believe and it shall happen...so what's up with something not happening?

(Non-Christians or otherwise, I'm not interested in your answers, so don't bother.)

Nice typical responses...but this is something that SHOULD have happened because of the circumstances. So you're saying it's God's will for someone to be poor?????? For someone not to eat??? If you ask for and believe for food you should have it. According to the Bible I read it's not God's will for someone to be poor. So, don't pawn it off on "His will".

Oh yeah...and there was NO DOUBT and NO UNFORGIVENESS. Next.

Yeah, so Jesus was talking to the Apostles. Blah blah blah...so you're saying that when he spoke to Job or Jacob or Jehoshephat or David, NONE of that applies to regular Joes? Because you know...he was just talking to THEM. I'm not buying it.

FRUITCAKE- try 2 Cor 9:8. Try again.

And for those who are pompous enough to ask, YES I READ MORE THAN THAT VERSE.

Answer 1

Two quick thoughts on the question.

1) If you pray without expecting the desired response, your faith is worthless to begin with. You are essentially saying "I hope this happens, who cares?"

2) When you pray and the expectations haven't been met, then you know that God has something else planned or reasons for no answering a prayer in a particular way.

I will admit, prayer was one of the hardest jumps I experienced from coming from atheism (to agnosticism) to Christianity. And I'll be sincere in saying, that I'm not entirely sure how it all works. My fear more then anything is to face God one day and to see exactly what our prayers meant and to be shown how we could have done so much more had it been for prayer.

From personal experience, I have made several petitions in my life. The first was praying for a church home when I became a Christian. God answered that prayer by a random instant message by a strange who happened to live in the apartment complex across the street three days later.

This let me to the church where I met a woman who after 6 months of getting to know each other, I asked to pursue the relationship further. After several attempts, I conceeded the efforts and asked God to take her off my heart and remove my feelings for her. A few days later, her feelings wound up changing. That woman is now my wife. :)

Given, prayers aren't always answered and definitely not always the way we would want them to be. However, there is something mysteriously powerful about prayer. And my faith stays strong knowing that we see small miracles and answers almost daily.

Answer 2

I don't know where in the Bible you read that it's God's will that you not be poor. Some preacher might have told you that, but it's not in the Bible. The Bible is for rich and poor alike.

You have to study all the other verses on prayer. You can't take one verse and build a belief on that alone.

I do not believe that you live in US and do not have enuf to eat. God does and will supply every need you have, maybe he won't make pie fall from the sky onto your table, but He sure makes a way for you to eat. And supplies any other need you have.
If one can't find work, there is just too much free food available in the US.
Stop expecting God to do what you can do yourself. Even Mohammed said,"First tie up your camel, then put your faith in God".
btw I'm not trying to be unkind or rude. You used that as an example and I'm responding to that.

Answer 3

There is a condition to the verse you mentioned, which is seen in the overall context of Mark 11:

22. Jesus said to them, "Have faith in God! 23. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' if he doesn't doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24. That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. 25. "Whenever you stand up to pray, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins. 26. But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins."

We see that a person must have no doubt at all that it will happen, and they must have forgiven everyone they have been offended by. The typical Christian does not have this faith. Why do I say this? Because you don't see Christians moving mountains.

This agrees with what James said later in James 1:

"6. But he must ask in faith, without any doubts, for the one who has doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7. Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he undertakes."

If something that occurs in prayer doesn't happen, it is because of doubt. This can be overcome, however, just as the man who asked Jesus to deliver his son from demons in Mark 9:24: "I do believe! Help my unbelief!"

RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Jesus said this about the poor: "For you will always have the destitute with you, but you will not always have me." (Matthew 26:11)

Answer 4

I think you're missing the point of prayer.

Prayer isn't some sort of vending machien that you put enough coins in and you're garentied a can of coke, you can't manipulate God - prayer is more the great opportunity to draw close to God, to share with God the things on your heart and have him share the things that he cares about with you.

Sometimes I don't get what I want. Billy Graham's wife Ruth once said "I'm glad God doesn't give me everything I ask for, if that was the case I would have married the wrong man...several times"

God does promise to give us what we need if we ask for it in prayer but the point is that prayer transforms us to see the world like Jesus does - the more time you spend with someone the more you become like them. As this happens, the things we want alters.

I know this sounds like a cop out but it really works like this.

Answer 5

yes I do but we must read the before and after verses there is a charge to keep in order to receive his promises.

Mar 11:19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.


Mar 11:20 ¶ And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.


Mar 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.


Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.


Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.


Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].


Mar 11:25 ¶ And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.


Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Answer 6

I believe in this promise. We have prayed for many things and GOD has been faithful. However, don't expect an answer to a prayer for millions of dollars. Sometimes the best thing that GOD can do for us is NOT to give us the things we ask for. For example, if we asked for millions of dollars, would all this money bring us closer to GOD OR move us further away from GOD? See the point?

GOD bless.

Answer 7

Jesus: our example to prayer, prayed "All things are possible for You......yet not what I will, but what You will."(Mark 14:36) Our prayers are often motivated by our own interests and desires. We like to hear that we can have anything. But Jesus prayed with God's interests in mind. When we pray, we should express our desires, but want his will above ours. Check yourself to see if your prayers focus on your interests or God's.

Furthermore God always answers prayers. The answer may be no, yes, or not yet, you need to wait on my timing. God's timing is always perfect and so are his answers. God Bless you.

Answer 8

24 Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. 25But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

Jesus, our example, prayed, “Everything is possible for you. Yet I want your will, not mine” (14:36). Our prayers are often motivated by our own interests and desires. We like to hear that we can have anything. But Jesus prayed with God’s interests in mind. When we pray, we can express our desires, but we should want his will above ours. Check yourself to see if your prayers focus on your interests or God’s.

Cross References:
Mark 11:24—Matthew 7:7

Also many times when we pray we harbor sin in our hearts. Sin hinders prayer. There will be times when what we ask for is not a good thing for us or God has better desires for us.

Answer 9

What a broad promise for prayer. But, note. Who was He talking to? The multitudes? Nope. He was talking to His disciples. Who are these tremendous promises made to as far as prayer is concerned? They are made to disciples. And what constitutes discipleship? First of all: deny yourself, take up your cross, follow Him. So, this is not just a broad promise that anybody can say, "Well, bless God. All I have to do is believe it and say it, and I'm going to have it. Alright! I want a new Mercedes. I want a home on Lido Island. I want a yacht on the dock. I say it; I'm going to have it. Praise God! Hallelujah!" And what's the first thing that makes a disciple? Deny yourself. "Oh, wait a minute. That yacht isn't denying myself." You see, these promises are made not to everybody, but to those who have denied themselves to take up their cross and follow Jesus. So it would follow that you're not going to use this prayer, this power through prayer, to fulfill your own lusts. But you would be using it to bring glory to God.


I could recount experiences with answered prayer that would give you goosebumps - if you're into that sort of thing...

Answer 10

To fully appreciate the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, we should bear several things in mind.

For one thing, the Old Testament prophets often performed symbolic acts to gain attention and convey their message. Jeremiah, for instance, was ordered to break a potter’s flask in Israel’s sight, as a symbol of how God will smash Israel (Jeremiah 19). The Prophet Ezekiel packs his bags, digs a hole in the wall and departs through the hole carrying his baggage, symbolizing the exile to come.

The Hebrew Scriptures often use figs or the fig tree as a symbol of Israel. In Hosea, for example, we find God saying, “Like grapes in the desert, I found Israel. Like the first fruits of the fig tree in its prime, I considered your fathers” (Hosea 9:10). And in Jeremiah we find, “I will gather them all in, says the Lord: no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig trees, foliage withered!” (Jeremiah 8:13). And, again, Jeremiah compares the repentant Israelites who will return from the exile to a basket of good, edible figs while he compares Zedekiah and the princes to a basket of bad figs which cannot be eaten.

Finally, we should put the Gospel incident back in context. Mark’s story of the fig tree is sandwiched around his account of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. It is interesting to note that when Matthew tells of Jesus cursing the fig tree he omits the fact figs were not yet in season. Admittedly, this is a bothersome detail and something of a distraction. But it should not lead us away from the point. Whatever is to be said about figs being in season, Jesus wants to teach a lesson in the here and now. He can’t wait around for two or three months until the fig crop is due! The point, then, for the apostles is the fruitlessness of the Temple worship and piety at Jesus’ time. Like the fig tree’s abundance of green leaves, the activities of the Temple give the impression of religious vitality, but the Temple worship is barren...

Jesus is hungry for the fruit of good works. As Wansbrough says later, commenting on the text in Matthew, Jesus’ action is a warning to the religion’s leaders not to reject the grace of God present in Jesus. Jesus’ action, then, is prophetic and symbolic. And in the dark days ahead, the apostles are to recall the power of Jesus’ word.

They are to continue to have faith in Jesus and act out of faith. Faith in Jesus and the power of their prayer will enable them to overcome all obstacles.

One last note: Jesus was talking to the Apostles, who would be the teaching authority of the Church, not to individual believers who have no authority to teach.