Believe when you pray
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”Mark 11:24
Reflection
Jesus had just cursed a fig tree that withered, and the disciples, amazed, comment on it. He then takes the opportunity to teach about faith and prayer, and reaches this sentence that many people know: "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them". It is one of the most promising verses and, at the same time, one of the most misused. Some turn it into a formula for getting everything they want. Others, seeing requests without answer, conclude they do not have enough faith. Neither reading does justice to the text.
Let us go to the heart of what Jesus is saying. He joins two things that usually walk apart: praying and believing. Much prayer is done almost as a ritual, with little expectation that God will really answer. Jesus wants us to ask expecting. "Believe that ye receive them" is confidence in the good Father, who hears, cares and answers. It is not mental force to convince yourself, it is rest in the goodness of the One who listens. The focus is on God, not on the intensity of our feeling.
To avoid misreading it, look at how Jesus Himself prayed. On the night before the cross, He asked for the cup to pass, but ended by saying: "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt". The faith Jesus teaches does not dominate the Father's will, it surrenders to it. To believe that we will receive is to believe that the Father will give what is good, in His wisdom and His time, and that nothing we ask in faith falls into emptiness. Sometimes He grants exactly what we ask; sometimes, something better than we knew how to ask.
How about choosing one concrete request today and praying it with expectation? Speak to the Father as someone who trusts that He hears. After asking, give thanks in advance, without anxiety. And add, with an open heart: "Your will be done". That combination, asking boldly and surrendering humbly, is a prayer that pleases the Father. He likes to see His children ask, expecting.
Prayer
Father, thank You for inviting me to ask. Forgive me for so often praying without expecting anything. I believe You hear me and that You will give me what is good. Today I bring You this request, and I thank You in advance. May Your will be done, because I trust Your Father's heart. Amen.
Put it into practice
Choose one specific request and pray about it today with expectation, giving thanks in advance. End by saying "Your will be done" and write the request down so that later you can record how God answered.
To reflect on
Have you been praying expecting God to answer, or out of habit, with little expectation and without surrendering the outcome to the Father's will?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).