Meditations Upon Mark 11:24 - Part One

 

Meditations Upon Mark 11:24

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

 

This verse is one of the most abused passages in the Bible. Televangelists treat it as if it were their “Magna Carta” for supernatural healing and extraordinary spiritual events. Misguidedly seeking material acquisition and financial gain, many disciples allow them to scratch their itching ears with a vile reductionism of this verse and its context. They eagerly listen to the concept of “Ask it, name it and claim it.”

 

What did those words mean to the people who originally heard them? How did they respond? What did the evangelist intend using those words? Has anything been lost in the translation from Greek to English? Biblical authors wrote in word pictures. What mental image did the evangelist intend for his hearers and readers to formulate in response to his directive? What exactly does it mean to have faith in God?

 

Let’s deconstruct the verses. Does “Have” mean to possess? How does a disciple acquire faith? What is faith? Does referring to synonyms such as belief, trust and reliance suffice to define faith? Admittedly, “in God” presumes God’s existence and acceptance of this concept. How does a disciple ask anything of God? What does it mean to “believe?” How would a disciple prove his or her belief? How would you receive something intangible? The evangelist instructs his readers to affirm that they have already acquired the object of their heartfelt desire without being able to physically hold it. The passage alludes to a forthcoming  time when the objects of a disciple’s prayer will manifest before him or her. What difference will answers  to these questions make?

 

The author of Hebrews defines faith as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. Faith demands an unwavering belief that your investment of time, talent, treasure and temperament toward a dream, goal or ambition will yield success. Faith enables you to see success before you practically achieve it. Your belief in your abilities, capabilities, capacities and endowments sustain you as you painstakingly pursue fulfillment of your goals and aspirations. With the inner eye, you can see success before it happens. The spiritual disciplines of prayer, meditation and affirmation are like oil in the lamp to guide your path during darkness, doubt and fear.

 

The evangelist specifies that disciples are to have faith in Almighty God. I posit that he does not disdain belief in one’s own self. Self-esteem is a nonnegotiable attribute for anyone who seeks to achieve anything meaningful. If you do not believe in yourself, then you cannot expect anyone else to do so. Nevertheless, the evangelist specifies that we put our faith in Almighty God. Therein, we assert an unequivocal belief and trust in God’s ability and grace to impart the objects of our petitions. We trust God to answer our prayers in accordance with His sovereign will and divine plan for our individual lives and humankind. A belief in Almighty God requires an assertion of His four immutable characteristics. He is infinite and limitless in knowledge, power, presence and kindness. He possesses the power and prerogative to grant our prayers. Also, He has the sovereignty to deny them for whatever reason He chooses.

 

As it relates to any measure of faith necessary to achieve a favorable outcome, the evangelist in Matthew’s gospel depicts the minimally requisite amount. He says that faith the size of a mustard seed is powerful enough to move a mountain. With a mustard seed’s size of faith, disciples can command mountains to cast themselves into the sea. Practically, this means that disciples can merely entertain an idea that their circumstances can be different. Are you willing to believe that God indeed can heal your major health challenges? We are twenty-first century, global and pluralistic disciples. Many of us uncritically accept the scientific method as the most reliable means of determining truth and reality. However, do we like our first century counterparts genuinely rely upon our Heavenly Father to intervene favorably in our affairs? Notwithstanding science, technology, social science, psychology and reason, is there any merit to petitioning God to intervene within our circumstances? Are we willing to entertain the idea? A mustard seed of faith equates with a humble willingness to believe God will suspend natural law and readjust your situation? Certainly, He will should He elect to utilize you and your predicament to glorify Himself. Like the experientially and existentially exhausted father in Mark 9:23, you may cry aloud, “Lord, I believe but help Thou my unbelief!” A mustard seed of faith is incomplete, but it is not insincere or inadequate.

Meditations Upon Mark 11:24 - Part Two

 Meditations Upon Mark 11:24

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

What are our motives in asking God for access to His infinite wisdom and power? Do we ask for supernatural favors to avoid hard work, saving, patience and disciplined stewardship of time, finances and talents? Do we ask God to nullify the laws of nature, extraordinarily heal us to enable us to regularly watch late morning television shows while having a second bowl of cereal or oatmeal? Do we ask God to bless us at someone else’s expense? Do we allow jealousy, resentment, favoritism, anger and other toxic emotions to seep into our hearts, minds and prayers? It is necessary to clarify our motives. Are there any lingering ulterior motivations? Are we being completely and perhaps brutally honest in our requests?

 

How do we receive intangible rewards? We possess them internally seeing them with the eyes of heart and soul. Paul prays for the Ephesians, in the first chapter and eighteenth verse, that Almighty God will open the eyes of their hearts and enlighten them as it relates to His will for them. Through dreams, meditations, affirmations and active imagination, God allows us to see beyond natural reality. As we diligently utilize those spiritual practices, we can see weddings, births, graduations, ribbon cutting ceremonies, award presentations and other major accomplishments and milestones years before they happen. Doggedly, we hold and nurture these visions while simultaneously taking concrete steps to actualize them. Shameless persistence is necessary to realize our heart’s desires.

 

I have a friend whose unwavering determination to become a wife and mother exemplifies the objectives of this passage. She attended college during a period of heightened feminism, social instability and unbridled emphasis upon career and monetary advancement. Women were encouraged to delay marriage and children until they had achieved a certain level of professional success. Career advancement was deemed more necessary and significant than family life and personal relationships. Accordingly, many women began to believe that they would not marry or have children. One of the sisters in her inner circle boldly declared to the others, “We simply need to accept the fact that we will never get married and have children and a family.” In response, my friend faithfully, courageously and unapologetically said, “I do not accept that reality for me. Being a wife and mother has always been important to me. I know that I will be good at both. I know that I will be both a wife and a mother.” My friend’s words were unwavering statements of faith in God’s will, grace and provision. Her words straightforwardly specified the desires of her heart. She did not equivocate on her requests. She trusted God to provide her heart’s deepest desires. She received and embraced marriage and motherhood as she fervently prepared for them. Not surprisingly, three decades later, she celebrated her thirtieth wedding anniversary which coincided with her daughter’s graduation from college.

 

This friend’s statements and actions perfectly demonstrate the meaning of the word, “believe,” in this verse. From the Greek language, the word in its verbal form translates as “to persuade or be persuaded.” As a noun, the word means “faith, trust or certainty.” To have faith means to act as someone who has been persuaded into certainty. What convinces disciples of the necessity of having faith, especially in difficult situations and amid challenging factors? God’s unfailing love and unquestionable over extended periods yields certainty of faith. God’s answers disciples’ prayers as they accord with His sovereign will and providential prerogatives and purposes. Prayer is a means for disciples to more greatly acquire the mind, heart and character of the Lord Jesus Christ. As William Barclay declares in his commentary on the Gospel of Mark in The Daily Study Bible Series, prayer offers an opportunity for transformation. It is not a spiritual locale to offer a grocery list of petitions to satisfy personal desires, alleviate fear, add to the bottom figure on the balance sheet, establish a designer brand for purchases or otherwise prosper bountifully and enjoy longstanding health. Nevertheless, the evangelist links perseverance in faith in God by combining a respect for His will and purposes with a genuine reliance upon His love, grace and faithfulness.

 

It is important to note that faith in God assumes both reasonable, relational and experiential knowledge of Him. “To persuade” encompasses logic and analytical reflection. Theology in its simplest form is rational thought about God’s existence, character, revelation and actions. The prevalent anti-intellectualism that afflicts American Christianity particularly amid televangelists, megachurch pastors and lay leaders and local congregations denigrates the faith and impedes evangelism. The twenty-first century global village and marketplace with its uncritical reliance upon science, technology, social science, psychology and deference to pluralism, secularism and moral relativism requires a contemporary intellectually respectable articulation of the Christian Gospel. The certainty of faith must be dependent upon more than “a warm, burning feeling in  [the] heart.” Dramatic and emotional conversion scenarios and sincere personal experiences do not suffice to persuade non-Christians of the existential worth of knowing Christ. Disciples do not honor the Lord or His salvific work with inadequate and insufficient appeals to convincer nonbelievers. The Bible exhorts disciples to embrace lifelong study of Christ’s teachings as an incalculable and nonnegotiable component of discipleship. An argument for the reasonableness of Christianity amid increasing religious pluralism and ecumenism. Utilizing analytical tools and critical methods of history, philosophy and science, Christians can maintain a socially relevant, intelligent, empirical and morally pragmatic faith.