Ask and Believe

Scripture
Mark 11:23-24 "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.

Thoughts
We have probably all read and heard this passage of scripture many times. Yet how many times have we actually heard about a mountain being tossed into the sea? Even in the bible, there is no record of this occurring.

One of the most important keys to effective prayer is to pray without any doubt. The word doubt is from the Greek word “diakrino” which means to hesitate or waver. Believe is from the word “pisteuo” which means to trust, be fully persuaded or rely on. There are plenty of examples from Jesus Christ and disciples who epitomize this type of believing, yet no mountain has been tossed into the ocean that I’m aware of. So we must dig a little deeper for the true meaning of what Jesus is teaching us.

One key is that what we ask for must not be against God’s will which even Jesus complied with (Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."). 1 John 5:14 states “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” What we ask for must not be just for our own lusts or bragging rights but must serve God’s purposes. (James 4:2-3 “You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”)

This passage of scripture can be seen as a figure of speech (similar to a parable) which God sprinkles throughout His Word. These mountains are moral mountains which hinder the progress of God’s work. We can have mountains of fear, mountains of obstacles hindering our paths, mountains of guilt and mountains of Old Testament laws burdening our liberty in Christ.

Matthew Henry writes: “It may be applied to that miracle of faith, which all true Christians are endued with, which doeth wonders in things spiritual. It justifies us (Rom. 5:1), and so removes the mountains of guilt, and casts them into the depths of the sea, never to rise up in judgment against us, (Mic. 7:19) It purifies the heart (Acts 15:9) and so removes mountains of corruption, and makes them plains before the grace of God, (Zec. 4:7). It is by faith that the world is conquered, Satan’s fiery darts are quenched, a soul is crucified with Christ, and yet lives; by faith we set the Lord always before us, and see him that is invisible, and have him present to our minds; and this is effectual to remove mountains, for at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, the mountains were not only moved, but re moved, (Ps. 114:4-7. (2.) To this is added here that necessary qualification of the prevailing prayer, that we freely forgive those who have been any way injurious to us, and be in charity with all men”

So let us learn to ask. Ask for boldness, power and courage when we face persecution. Ask for spiritual fire when we find our spirit needs renewed. Ask for help to set aside our many daily distractions to set our priorities right. Ask for help in all our relationships. Ask for wisdom. Ask whether there is a lesson He wants you to learn when you are undergoing trials. Ask for blessings not only for ourselves and those we love, but for our enemies. Ask for hardened hearts to be softened, for chaos to find peace, for weary souls to find strength. Ask for help to forgive those who have hurt us. Ask not what God can do for you, but what you can do for Him.

And when we ask, know for a certainty that our Father would not give us a stone when we ask for bread (Matt 7:9).  Let’s ask without any doubt or wobbling of our hearts. Let’s ask, fully expecting God to answer our plea by doing greater things by His Spirit than we could ever imagine.
All scripture taken from NIV

Sample Prayer
Father, there are many mountains that I face in my life. I thank you for the ones that you have removed from my path. I thank you for the ones that I face, that my prayer is heard and that it too will be conquered for Your purpose in my life. You alone give me the strength to endure. You alone give me more than I ask or think according to the riches of Your glory. Help my unbelief to grow into unwavering trust in You. Amen

Wait and Listen

Scripture
Prov 19:20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days. (NAS)

Thoughts
One of the first things we learned about prayer was that it is having a conversation with our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We have a tendency to think of prayer as our time to talk. A key component in having a conversation is listening. This is especially important because many times our prayers include asking for guidance. We need to remember to patiently wait, be quiet and listen for the answer. When our parakeet gets loose, it does us no good to frantically search for him. The best thing to do is shut the doors to the room he is in (so the cats and dogs don’t find him first) and get quiet. Usually in ten minutes or so, we’ll hear some quiet rustling and we find where he is hiding. Our lives are so busy that our schedules have us rushing from one place to the next. And we always have to have background noise. Bill Bright writes: “But we may not hear or sense His presence if we are always scurrying around in this life, our hearing impaired and His voice obscured by the incessant noises of the world, some of them coming from our own mouths, or our radios, or our televisions.” I recently heard a young lady say that she didn’t like the long pause that is between two songs on a CD. Silence used to be considered golden. Let’s get back to thinking that it is a positive thing once again so that we may hear the voice of our Lord and the Holy Spirit when they talk to us.

And who among us hasn’t gotten excellent advice but didn’t adhere to it? It’s one thing to seek advice from a man and ignore it but how many times do we ignore God’s counsel because it wasn’t what we wanted to hear?
Neal Anderson writes: “We've progressed to the second level when prayer becomes personal. We have discovered a new dimension when we are comfortable in His presence and don't feel obligated to talk. It's much like a marriage relationship. A mature couple can ride together in the car for hours, enjoying each other's company, without having to say a word. I can just be with God and I'm learning to listen. Realizing that I need not feel obligated to keep the conversation going when I'm with God has changed my prayer life dramatically. This kind of prayer makes my relationship with God a 24-hour-a-day experience. Setting aside special times for prayer is still important. But when we leave our quiet time, the sense of God's presence should remain with us throughout the day.”
May our prayer life elevate to a more personal level as we seek His voice. Let us quiet our hearts, be still, know that He alone is our God and listen for and obey only His voice (Psalm 46:10).
The Requirements of Waiting From In Touch by Charles Stanley
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD

Waiting on the Lord sounds easy. After all, we only have to pray and listen for His answer, right?
The truth is that believers who desperately want to see a need met often find the process nearly unbearable. The next time God tells you to wait, remember these four requirements for keeping a steady vigil until He says, “Now go forward.”
Believers must have faith, trusting in God even without knowing when or how He will resolve a situation. And faith cannot function without humility. We must submit to the Lord with the recognition that there is nothing we can do except pause until further instructions come. Believers are far safer in this voluntarily helpless condition than in trying to figure out their own solution. As soon as we begin to manipulate our circumstances — which is a demonstration of prideful reliance on self — we subvert the Master’s plan.
The moment we realize that we could save ourselves pain or stress through some action that is not of God, we need patience, which is not an inborn trait. It is a decision to remain calm and quiet in a difficult situation.
We will never make the choice to exercise patience unless we have courage. Friends and colleagues will freely offer advice about our situation. We must bravely wait when others say it is time to move. Fear of criticism is often the catalyst for believers to get out of God’s will.

Praying when we would rather be doing is hard. But we must be ready to hold steady faithfully, humbly, patiently, and courageously when God says, “Wait.” www.intouch.org
Heartlight Prayer Loving Father, I know you have waited for me so many times -- for me to show my faith, repent of my sins, grow in holiness, come to you in prayer, act more mature, give to those who cannot return my care... Help me as I wait for you to show me the way with my decisions, to act to relieve my need, and to reveal your presence in my loneliness. I really do seek you with all my heart. Lead me to your wisdom and I will not only seek to know it, but also seek to live it by the power supplied by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. www.heartlight.org

Quote
The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says "Amen" and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him your ideas. -- Frank Laubach