Mark 11:23-26 – Faith, forgiveness and answered prayers

A curse-free life is living a life of faith in God. It calls for a consistent and constant abiding in Christ and His word. We need to live in vital relationship with Christ. This kind of living allows the life of Christ to flow through us to bless others. Remember that the Lord and His disciples were still on the road and probably could see the hilly areas surrounding Jerusalem. Just imagine Him pointing and gesticulating at the mountainous area and said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

We know that the mountain was a representation of a very difficult situation. It could be circumstances that would impede our progress and prevent us from sinking our roots and deepening our trust in the Lord. They are often big and formidable and could create doubt and generate fear in us. The Lord here assures us that in moment like this, we need to come to our seeming gigantic mountain with faith in God. This verse teaches us not to be satisfied with unanswered prayers but does not tell us to presume on God. We need to ask in faith and in line with His word and when we do so, we have the confidence that God would hear us. Effective fervent prayer requires that we ask trustingly, anchoring our prayers in the theology that God is good and He is able to meet the request we make. A doubting heart will render our prayer ineffective.

Unbelief is not the only obstacle to answered prayer. The Lord said that an unforgiving spirit could also render prayer ineffective. This is a call to examine our hearts when we come to prayer. When we come praying, the Lord suggests that we come not harboring resentment against someone. It’s amazing that in life we are all in favor of forgiving others until it comes to us, needing to forgive others. So the Lord says to us, when we come praying, remember to forgive, else, this unforgiving spirit will render our prayer ineffective. Don’t expect God to forgive us if we won’t forgive others.

More than about effective prayer, the Lord’s ultimate call from this passage is for us believers to focus on our redemptive task. Every member of His family must see to the building of a trusting and unobstructed relationship with God, and as we are doing that individually, we must also seek to build an open and reconciled relationship with one another.