“Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.’” v.22-25 (NLT)
I don’t know how many times I have heard people say, “just pray about it.” Yes, I believe prayer is important, and also believe in the power of prayer! In fact, I have experienced the power of prayer, and I am a product of the power of prayer. But we have to remember that prayer is our way to talk with God directly. We must remember that the kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God’s Kingdom. It would seem impossible to move a mountain into the sea, so Jesus used that illustration to show that God can do the impossible. God will answer your prayers but not as a result of your positive mental attitude. Other conditions must be met:
- You must be a believer
- You must not hold a grudge against another person
- You must not pray with selfish motives
- Your request must be for the good of God’s Kingdom.
To pray effectively, you need faith in God, not faith in the object of your request. If you focus only on the request, you will be left with nothing if your request is refused.
Today, have you taken time to pray? Are your prayers in line with the 4 things listed above? Thank God for the answered prayers in your life!
Dan Gould 