Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

We must ask “according to His will” (1 John 5:14) in order to qualify. Yes, the fervent prayer of faith submits to God’s will (Matthew 6:9-10) and will be limited by God’s will (1 John 5:14). Christ ALWAYS thought of God’s Kingdom first (Mt 6:10); even Jesus thought it necessary to pray, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup [His death] pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). Indeed, on all except God’s unconditional promises, this “if it be your will” must always be stated or implied. RSB, NG & TH

That “name it and claim it” theology promotes self-centeredness. It promotes greed, which is a sin. If you only have enough faith you can get anything you want, including wealth. Wrong! --NeverThirsty

Examine yourself to see if your prayers focus on your interest or God’s. 

The context of Mark 11:23-24 includes the next verse, Mark 11:25, too, so answered prayer depends on the condition that you do not hold even a single grudge against another person. LASB

Christians sin every day and so need to pray for forgiveness, and that divine forgiveness will be granted them IF they forgive others (Mt 6:12, 14-15).

November 16 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

Jack, the short answer is yes, Jesus literally promised to do for us whatever we ask in faith. There's nothing tricky about it, it means what it says.

I think He gave us a hint, however, to what our problem might be.

How many people do you know who would speak to a mountain and believe, truly believe, that the mountain would move? There's the issue right there. We struggle in the faith department.

So what's the answer, how do we take full advantage of this open promise? Because that's what it is, it's an open promise. First, we must downsize our requests. If we don't believe it we can't receive it. Like I said, most of us don't have mountain moving faith. (Personally, I don't know anyone with it.) We don't believe we can speak to a mountain and it will obey us. If we did believe it would move, it would. I have it on the word of a man who cannot lie (Heb 6:18, Titus 1:2).

So the catch is, it's a waste of time to try to fool yourself into believing you can believe what you don't believe. 

Believe the word! Believe in Jesus. He answered this question of yours. He said, "Have faith in God." (Mark 11:22) The previous day He had gone to a fig tree to see if it had any fruit, and when it didn't He cursed it. The next morning they passed by the tree, and it had withered. Peter brought it to His attention and that was Jesus' response. He knew they were wondering how the tree withered so quickly. He told them how His words carried so much power. He believed His own words because they were said in faith. 

He said to them on another occasion, "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works" (John 14:10). 

We have access to the same Spirit as Jesus had. He had faith that we can only read about. If we had that kind of faith we could do some awesome things. There's no trick to it.

November 16 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Ezekiel Kimosop Supporter

Did Jesus in Mark 11:23-24 promise to give literally anything we ask in faith?

Before answering this question, I am reminded of a primary hermeneutic rule that the Bible reader must have in mind as they approach the Scriptures. The rule is that Scripture interprets Scripture. We cannot therefore read a text in isolation if we shall ever understand the whole counsel of God in Scripture concerning a given issue. We should harmonize it with what Scripture teaches elsewhere. 

Jesus' statement in Mark 8:22-24 was in response to Peter's reaction when he discovered that the fig tree that Jesus cursed the previous day had dried up [see Mark 11:12-14]. Jesus used the opportunity to emphasize on the importance of faith in God's power. His reference to a mountain was an analogy that simply denotes unsurmountable problems or monumental issues confronting the believer.

The concluding statement in Mark 11:24 makes it clear that we ought to approach God with unwavering faith as we present our petitions to Him.

Now to address the question raised. 

Does Jesus' statement imply that every prayer or petition presented to God will be answered? The Word of Faith group would readily respond this question in the affirmative. My view is that our petitions must agree with God's permissive will. 
Here's why..

Jesus Himself prayed to the Father at the Garden of Gethsemane that the cup of suffering be taken away from Him. He was however careful to allow the Father to have His way on His petition. His statement in Luke 22:42 says "...Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but yours, be done". Jesus was definitely not lacking in faith. He simply allowed God's divine will to prevail even as He prayed and for this He had peace of heart and mind in accordance with Philippians 4:6-7. 

Speaking of God's will, we learn from Paul's prayer in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 that Paul prayed three times that the "thorn in the flesh" be taken away from him. Jesus declined his prayer, saying "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul accepted God's will concerning his circumstances and gracefully moved on. God kept the thorn in Paul's flesh to keep him humbled. It served God's divine purposes for him. 

Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that our petitions must be informed by godly motives. James 4:3 says "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." 

Here is the conclusion to this matter:

1) We should approach God in prayer by faith. We should not waver in our faith. 

2) We should let God have His way. His way is the best way for us. God may grant our prayer instantly or at a time appointed by Him [see the moral in the Parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1-8]. He may test our resilience in prayer. 

3) Where God grants our petition, we should glorify His name for it [see Jesus' remarks in Luke 17:17-18 concerning the Samaritan who returned to Jesus to give thanks]. 

4) God may decline our petitions if they do not agree with His divine will. If this happens in our context, we should submit to God's will and glorify Him. Jesus did the same. He moved on to face the cross and suffered and died for us. This was God's will for Jesus. 

5) God may decline our petitions if they are motivated by greed and selfishness. Some people pray out of jealousy, wishing to match others who appear to be materially "more blessed" than them. God does not treat people in the same way. He blesses us differently. Life does not consist of how much we own but how close we are to God [cf. Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:13-21).

Prosperity theology has sadly reduced prayer to a password mantra, and God to an ATM dispenser. The truth is that God's perfect will concerning us will ultimately be fulfilled in how God responds to our petitions.

November 26 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Emmanuel Kameya Supporter

The bible is usually poetic in several passages. I don't thing Jesus was being literal when he said 'anything' in that passage. He was however being figurative in speech. 

The word 'Anything' In that verse meant everything good, everything excellent, everything necessary and everything reasonable to ask for. You can't ask for wickedness and expect God to give it to you just because you believe. 

Sometimes even good things may not be appropriate to ask for. For example; you can't ask for God to make a way on a river so that you can pass when there is already a well functioning bridge over that river.

November 16 2021 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft Supporter 74 year old retired pipeline worker

God will grant whatever we ask within His will to give us. And sometimes He will even give us what we want even though it is not His will. 

As my dear wife says, be careful what you ask for, you may get it. Even though it is not Gods perfect will. 

For years I prayed for a certain motorcycle. But there was never one came up within my price range. 

25 years later one came up on e-bay. I was the only bidder and bought it way cheaper than I could have bought it otherwise. 

When I picked it up it was even better than I had imagined. It was in perfect condition and low milieage for a ten year old motorcycle. 17,000 miles and it was well taken care of. 

So, wait on the Lord. If He wants to bless us with something we want or need, He will give it to us. 

I have found it is better to not have something than to have something He does not want me to have. Timing is everything. God does everything on His own time. Not our time. 

But the greatest GIFT you will ever receive is the free gift of eternal life paid in full by Jesus one blood sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. First John 2:2. This life is short, eternity is forever. 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, and we all sin, First John 1:8, and we all die, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus finished work on the cross apart from our works which cannot save sinners. 

John 6:40 and John 6:47. Gods word and He cannot lie. John 3:18.

March 18 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Janet Hegna Supporter

I believe the answer is no. Here's why: Jesus said anything we desire, not anything you want. I think desire is like a burning in your soul that won't go away, and want is more of a selfish / fleshly act. Why would you downsize your desire, if it truly is a desire? We have a GREAT BIG God who created all and is all, so if you downsize your desire, you're limiting the creator of the universe, God Almighty Himself! I believe if you ask for things for selfish reasons, your prayers will not be answered. God’s will be done, in our best interest. He's our Father and He takes good care of us. I think the mountain that's spoken of might be talking about situations in life and maybe not a literal mountain. Be blessed.

March 20 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report