| Previous Verse |
Mark 11:24 |
Next Verse |
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].
Note 7 at Mk. 11:24: The Greek word translated desire is "aiteo" and it always means to ask. This is in contrast with "epithumeo," which is used in Matthew 13:17; Luke 16:21; 22:15; etc., and means to desire greatly.
Note 8 at Mk. 11:24: This passage illustrates one of the main differences between a God-kind of faith and a human faith. A natural, human faith, which everyone has, believes only what it can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. God's kind of faith can believe in things that cannot be seen (Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:1). Jesus is making this God-kind of faith a prerequisite to receiving answers to prayer. You must believe that you receive your answer "when you pray" -- not when you see the thing you've desired.
Note 9 at Mk. 11:24: Some people have mistakenly taken this verse and applied it to intercession for other people. Jesus made it very clear that YOU would have the things that YOU desired of the Lord -- not that THEY would have the things that YOU desired of the Lord for them. Other scriptures give promises for interceding for others but this scripture is not one of them. This scripture applies to individuals believing and receiving their own desires.
Note 10 at Mk. 11:24: As explained in note 8 at this verse, the believing that is required has to be done "when you pray," while the thing you desired "shall" come to pass in the future. This might be only an instant or even a longer period of time, but the word "shall" does signify future tense.
The Lord moves instantly to answer our prayers that meet His qualifications (see note 49 at Mt. 7:7, p. 83), but He moves in the spiritual realm and His workings are not always immediately evident to our physical senses (see note 50 at Mt. 7:8, p. 83). By faith, we must believe that He is answering our prayers before we see any physical evidence. If we fail to believe until we see something, then that is not faith (2 Cor. 5:7), but rather doubt, and it will cause us not to receive the things which we desired of the Lord (Jas. 1:5-7). Faith is our evidence (Heb. 11:1) -- not what we see.
