Mark 11:24-25
“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve
received it, it
will be yours. But
when you are praying, first forgive anyone
you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive
your sins, too.”
We love the first part of this passage, don’t we? It’s the second part, the “but” part, that we’d
like to gloss over sometimes.
First forgive anyone and everyone against whom I’m holding a grudge,
including those who have something against me!
This requires humility of mind and heart, which is another spiritual “attitude”
taught in the Scriptures. Remember the
man who went to the temple to pray and who was “beating his breast”, not even
daring to “lift his eyes to heaven”, and the comparison drawn to the
self-righteous Pharisee standing nearby, also praying? (Luke 18:10-14) Jesus most definitely held up the humility of
the first as a pattern for my prayers; and denounced the pride of the Pharisee!
This passage in Mark reveals a stupendous promise from God; but
attached to it is a humanly hard command to follow. But follow it we must, with help from the
Throne of Grace, if we want to receive from God the spiritual blessings for
which we ask.
Father, I
always pray for intimacy with You, spiritual maturity and blessings,
Knowledge of
Your will and purpose for me; I pray for others,
In my church,
my family, and my workplace, expecting to see You
Act on their
behalf.
But now I ask
for discernment to recognize who I need
To forgive and
who needs to forgive me. Please bring
anyone to my mind
You please and
help me to be fully and immediately obedient.
Amen.
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