Believe That You Receive

Many times when asking God for something, we expect to see immediate results. There’s nothing wrong with that really – especially when dealing with an all powerful God who lives outside of time. However, when immediate results are not apparent, we as humans start covering and start coming up with all manner of reasons and explanations for why our request was not granted. There is something wrong with this. Because right from the start the assumption is that our requests were not granted, and then based on that faulty assumption we begin conceiving all-manner of anti-Biblical doctrine to try and make sense of our present experience – and the faith of many people has been shipwrecked as a result of such practices.

What we will be studying today is what the Bible actually says about requesting things, faith and receiving. The true words spoken by Jesus may surprise you. Once we see the truth about what Jesus taught, it will broaden the horizon of our thinking and our expectations when it comes to believing and receiving.

The scriptures that we will be studying today are likely ones that you may be familiar with. Yet even so, often-times we can be familiar with verses of scripture without taking time to consider what they are actually saying to us. The truth of what we are about to read is absolutely fantastic, and if we pause to digest the words of Jesus, His words have the power to transform our entire life. So let’s begin today by reading Mark 11:20-24:

“And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

And Peter calling to remembrance said to him, Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away.

And Jesus answering said to them, Have faith in God.

For truly I say to you, That whoever shall say to this mountain, Be you removed, and be you cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he said.

Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”

Here in verse 20, we see what we would consider in our modern-day lives to be an astonishing thing. The fig-tree, which Jesus had previously cursed a day earlier in verse 14, was now completely dried-up and withered away. Peter marvels about it in verse 21, and to be honest, most of us probably would do the exact same thing – even self-proclaimed believers would be amazed at such a thing today because we are not used to actually speaking something into existence, but it is exactly what God has been doing from the very beginning of creation.

In verse 22, Jesus says something that at first may seem like it means one thing, but actually means something else. Most of the English translations render what Jesus says as “Have faith in God.” but the Greek phrasing is actually “Have faith of God.” or To have the same kind of faith that God has. Jesus then goes on to explain in verse 23 exactly what kind of faith this is that He is talking about here. He says some very interesting things that most of us still do not even believe, but look at what He says: For truly I say to you… Now let’s stop right here because this small bit of information is quite foundational. This is Jesus speaking here! He is the one saying it, so it should be quite an assurance. And what is it that He is saying? That whoever, now stop here again. Are you a “whoever”? Are you included in this definition? If not, then you also would not be included in the other “whoever verses” such as in John 3:16. So this use of “whoever” here also includes you! Don’t be too shy or timid to admit this! It’s the beginning of a life-changing statement by Jesus!

Now what does Jesus say about you? That you shall say to this mountain… Again stop here for a moment. Is Jesus only referring to a physical landscape here? Is He talking about actual mountains only? It may seem silly, but we need to answer this question because if Jesus is only talking about physical raised-masses of land on the earth, then this severely limits the rest of what He says. The Greek word oros is used here for mountain, it is from the root oro which means “a thing that is raised up or arisen over, or something that has been lifted over”. This is more broad than just a piece of earth – it is metaphorical as well. So anything that arises in your path, anything that seems to be raised up over you, anything that seems to impede your path of life is included here.

Jesus says that to such a thing, you can speak to it. He says you shall say. This word “say” which is epo in Greek does not mean to beg or plead with. You are not speaking to God here, you are speaking to the thing in your way. You are speaking to the opposing force in your path, and you are not to do so with timidity. The Greek word means “to command or demand”. This is talking about using your God-given authority in Christ. There is absolutely nothing wrong with commanding or demanding something from those who are subject to you. And what exactly is it that Jesus says that we can command or demand from this thing in opposition to us? Be removed! Which in Greek means “to be lifted up, suspended, be put away”. You can literally command and demand to be loosed from affliction and oppression. Jesus gave you this authority. Remember that here in this verse, you are not demanding or commanding God to do something… you are commanding and demanding the evil forces to be removed – and you are doing so with your God-given authority in Christ Jesus!

The whole reason that Jesus says what He is saying here is because today just as back then, the body of Christ is mostly comprised of timid believers, who feel that it’s not their place to command or demand anything… they are still sheep rather than sons, they are still servants instead of kings. But Jesus here is teaching on the authority of the believer, and this is a vital foundational truth that many have yet to learn.

So Jesus tells us about our authority in Him, and the type of faith that we are supposed to have in verse 23, before He defines it in prayer in verse 24. Verse 23 is talking about commanding mountains to move, and verse 24 is talking about prayer which is talking talking to God. The reason why Jesus grouped these things together is because if we do not understand our authority in Him and who He has made us to be, we can never have the bold find of belief that Jesus says we are to have. Look at verse 24:

“Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.”

Jesus starts off by saying Therefore. This proceeds right on the heels of verse 23. Our authority which is so divinely explained to us in verse 23, is the reason why we can fulfill verse 24. This is why Jesus says Therefore. And again, Jesus reminds us that He is the one saying these words. This is not made-up, He says I say to you, whatever things you desire… Now stop here because most Christians today do not believe this either. They like to put limits where Jesus puts no limit. “Whatever” here, literally means anything. He did not restrain it – He could have, but He didn’t. We have a hard time believing that God can be so generous – we like to balance His generosity with His holiness, as if the two are opposing forces… but the fact is that God really is that good and generous. Notice also that He did not limit it either to “whatever things you need.” – instead He said “whatever things you desire”. He is literally telling us here how to get what we want in prayer… so if you enjoy having your requests granted by God, pay attention! It’s all wrapped-up in understanding what Jesus came to do, and who He has made you to be.

Jesus says when you pray, believe that you receive and you shall have. Now as with most things in the Bible, we have our own little preconceptions about what this means, but in reality it means something else. And this little detail has caused a lot of heartache, pain and confusion for many years.

Most people think this means “Okay, I ask God for something, and then I try really hard to believe in it, and if I believe enough, I will get it.” – However this is not what Jesus says here. So let’s read it again slowly and see what jumps out at us…

When you pray, believe that that you receive. The time to believe that you receive is not when you finish praying… it is not after you pray, it is when you pray. Simply speaking, if you wait until after you pray to start believing then it means you prayed in unbelief! However at the very time when you ask God for the thing, that right then is when you believe; you have conviction, you are utterly convinced that you have received – you have already laid hold of it and grabbed onto it.

Now how? How can you be so completely sure? Many believers struggle with this because they are not convinced of God’s goodness, or His generosity as I stated earlier. They do not believe that God actually wants to give them what they desire. They see themselves as mere servants with no rights and privileges. But my dear friends, in Christ we are not mere servants… that is not our position. We are dearly beloved sons of God, and He loves us dearly and has given us everything in His kingdom! He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32) For the Father to give you Jesus, but withhold something else is to say that the thing being withheld is more valuable than Jesus! Or that Jesus’ payment didn’t cover it! Neither of which is accurate.

If you truly understand the relationship that you have with God, and how very much He loves you, such things would not even be called into question. Ephesians 3:12 says that we should approach God with confidence in Christ Jesus through faith.

Dear friend, beloved of God. He has given you everything, including Himself. You have more than you even realize. Start believing and start receiving. This is the will of God for you; He has withheld nothing good from you. So let’s simply believe the words of Jesus that we have read straight from the scriptures, without limiting or complicating what God has made simple. It is your God-given right in Christ Jesus, and it gives Him glory – because every time you receive righteously in Christ, it testifies to your Savior. It shows that the thing has been paid for by Christ, whether it be healing, provision or anything. It is a physical sign that you have been redeemed and bought back by Jesus – so you will be a living epistle for Christ and all who look on you will see it. (Isaiah 40:4-5, Luke 3:5-6).

So I encourage you today. You have more rights and privileges in Christ than what you even realize. Start believing, not in yourself or your own efforts, but in what Christ has done for you and what He has made you to be. Start believing that the payment has been paid, and you stand righteous before a God who loves you and actually desires to give you every good thing because it honors His Son. This is your reality in Christ Jesus.