About whatever you ask…
Mark 11:22 - 24 "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23 "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. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for
in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (NIV)
When we read this verse, we might think, in our selfish way of thinking,
Christ is offering us some kind of blank check to grab anything we want.
However, there is in this verse the word "believe." Belief is our path
to God. Without belief, our path leads to Satan. We do have in Christ’s truth
about the concept of belief, indeed, a form of a blank check. Belief is an
action of the heart, mind, and soul. Where and how we point our belief is of
utmost importance. What do we ask for in prayer? Do we ask for all the selfish
things and "stuff" we want or do we surrender up ourselves in
unselfishness? If we ask for selfish things we may receive them but we will not
want them after we have them. If we ask for unselfish things by not even asking
for anything for ourselves but only for others, we will not have anything for
ourselves, except the mighty blessings of God. For this verse is not so much
about getting what you want. The verse is about the doubt in your heart. When
the doubt in your heart is gone, when there is not a shred of a question about
what God wants from you, there is left in your heart no request for anything for
yourself. When all the doubt in your heart is gone so is all the selfish pride,
all the selfish ambition, and all the selfish making of lists of what you might
want God to provide. And that issue of moving the mountain? When your pride is
gone, the mountain can stay where it is because you find God did not want it
moved anyway, and when you find out God did not want the mountain moved, the
mountain disappears.
