Mark 11:24

NASB	NLT	VOICE
24 Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.	24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.	24 So listen to what I’m saying: Whatever you pray for or ask from God, believe that you’ll receive it and you will.

Simple Breakdown of Prayer

There are no limits to what we can ask God and talk to Him about. Jesus wants us to go directly and personally to God. We need to fully lean our faith into our prayers. To believe in what we’re praying about means to have a continuous, ongoing act of trusting God for we’re asking. What you pray about will be given to you – this is God’s response to genuine faith.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: This sounds simple, right? How does this shape your viewpoint about prayer?

God Answers Us

The one thing that we didn’t truly talk about is how our prayers need to align with God’s will. It’s something that is not often talked about when it comes to prayer, but it’s something that must be discussed. God’s will is centered fulfilling the teachings and principles of God’s plan for the world through the gifts and skills that he gifted to His creation. We go through attempting to learn what our gifts and talents are and see how we can best use them for the care and creation of His world.

Much like a parent attempts to do what is best for their child when ask for something, God will do what is best for His chosen children when we go to Him. The difference is that while a parent’s response is normally immediate, God’s timing is something outside of our understand. We don’t know God’s time, for one day is one thousand years and a thousand years a day. We must recognize that we do not know when our prayers will be answered, but they will be answered at some point. It will be fulfilled prayers, and there will be prayers that don’t get fulfilled in the way we want. We will not be given answers to certain prayers and may never know why. However, we are called to trust, by faith, that God has created these paths for a reason. The unfulfilled prayers would have taken us further away from Him instead of closer. It could protect us from a hurt that could be unrecoverable. It could keep us from harming ourselves in ways that we never imagined. Sometimes we also pray for very positive things that still don’t happen – things like healing, safety, justice – and we may never get clear answers as to why. It’s okay to lament, question, and bring our confusion ot God while recognizing that God is with us, even when we can’t see the reasons.

The point of it all is to remain focuses that our prayers are answered by God, just may not be in the ways that we want them to be answered – and that’s okay. God’s plan is greater than anything that we can comprehend. God’s plan is good, healthy, and peaceful. God’s plan is first of love, care and compassion. We are called to bring this to the world.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What prayers can you pray that can help bring God’s will to your community?

PRAY Action

Praise God for our ability to talk with Him. This was not a given right as a Christian during the pre-Christ times. Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we can approach God boldly and confidently.

Read John 14:13-14

Ask God for, well, anything. Allow this prayer time to be full of everything and anything you want to lift up and/or ask for. Trust that God will answer your prayer in the best way possible.

You are a part of God’s chosen family. You are a child of God. Come and see your heavenly Father with boldness and confidence.

Next slice of manna: Roll Your Burdens || Psalm 37:5 || Manna for the Mind #331