Jesus said to His disciples, “I say to you, WHATEVER things you ask when you pray, BELIEVE that you receive them, and YOU WILL HAVE THEM. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have ANYTHING against anyone, FORGIVE HIM, that your Father in heaven MAY ALSO FORGIVE YOU your trespasses. But if you DO NOT FORGIVE, neither will your Father in heaven FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.” (Mark 11:24-26)
JESUS MAKES SOME VERY IMPORTANT STATEMENTS:
- WHATEVER YOU ASK: pas: all things, whatsoever, implies anything you ask for.
- BELIEVE: pisteuō: to trust Jesus for it, trusting Jesus to do what He promises.
- YOU WILL HAVE THEM: esomai: it shall be, our faith will be rewarded by us receiving what we ask for.
Notice, there is a condition in this promise, If we are harboring ANYTHING against ANYONE, we must FORGIVE THEM. What happens to us if we chose NOT TO FORGIVE? “…if you DO NOT FORGIVE, neither will your Father in heaven FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.” (Mark 11:26) I have heard it said that holding onto unforgiveness is like continually drinking rat poison, hoping the rat will die. By holding onto the desire to get even, you continually drink THE TOXIC POISON OF UNFORGIVENESS, hoping to get back at the person who hurt you. Not only does it sound crazy, but it doesn’t work! Unforgiveness is like a boomerang–you can throw it at the person who has hurt you, but it eventually comes back and hits you. Our responsibility is this: To admit our mistakes. To own our actions. To seek forgiveness. To make right the things we can. To let go of the things we can’t. To learn, to grow, to recognize behaviors in ourselves that have hurt others and prayerfully change them. To mindfully choose to be a better person, and pray earnestly that we may take necessary action required for that to happen.
“But as for me, the nearness of God IS MY GOOD; I have made the Lord GOD MY REFUGE, That I may tell of all Your works.” (Psa. 73:28)
Your Personal pastor -Bill Stockham