CHAPTER 6
"...What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them." -- Mark 11:24
These inspiring words of Jesus disclose that He
has obligated Himself to satisfy the incessant and insistent desires of His
praying people. His words leave no doubt in our minds regarding His
willingness to answer our requests. He makes it plain that whatsoever things
are required to satisfy our spiritual and temporal needs shall be granted
according to the measure of our faith.
We must obey the fundamental law of faith by
sincerely believing that we receive the things desired when we pray, otherwise
they shall not be granted. It is necessary to do some clear thinking regarding
our Lord's promise to give us the things desired when we pray in faith.
Some unwise persons have interpreted Jesus as
saying, "When ye pray, believe that you have the things desired, and you have
them." It is difficult to accept this concept of the Master's teaching about
the prayer of faith. No intelligent man can believe that he has received the
things desired unless he has received them. It would be absurd to make such a
claim in the light of truth.
It is misleading to tell a sincere seeker after a
pure heart to believe that the blessing has been received when that person
knows in his own heart that it is not true. This absurd teaching leaves a man
confused and disappointed. A man must receive the witness of the Holy Spirit
to confirm the work of grace performed in the heart. An honest man cannot
affirm that he has obtained the things desired unless he knows that he has
received them from God.
We must not assume that we have the things
desired. Our faith does not rest on an assumption; our faith rests on an
assurance imparted to us by the spirit of truth. When Jesus revealed His
provision to satisfy our desires, He disclosed the incentive to pray. He is
saying, "Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that God has
provided them, and you shall have them."
We must first believe that the resources of God
are made available to us through prayer. If we entertain the slightest doubt
in our hearts regarding this fact, we cannot obtain the things desired to
satisfy us in life.
While seriously meditating on the remarkable
words of Jesus concerning the things desired in prayer, let us not overlook the
fact that He is speaking about the mountain being removed at the word of
command. If it is God's purpose to remove all sin and sufferings from the
earth at His word of command, then it is likewise true that everything required
to accomplish His purpose on behalf of His people is made available to them in
the provision of redeeming grace. When we see this truth we can understand
God's purpose in establishing the throne of grace. Is it any wonder that we
are told to come boldly unto the throne of grace? We can readily understand the
real incentive to pray when we know that our legitimate desires will be granted
when we pray for things pertaining to the plan of redemption as revealed in
Christ. There is no provision made to gratify our desires unless the things
desired are directly related to Christ's plan of salvation.
The primary purpose of the Saviour's sacrifice on
the cross was to save us from sin and sufferings. It is His purpose to present
us faultless before the presence of the Father with exceeding joy. It is our
Lord's purpose to dry our tears for ever, open the gates of pearl, and give us
an abundant entrance into the City of God. It is permissible to interpret
Jesus as saying, "Whatsoever things are required to satisfy you and sustain you
in this holy way of life, when you pray, believe that you can obtain them, and
you shall have them."
It has not required one tear of sorrow, nor
exacted one drop of our blood, nor cost us one night of sleep to provide the
things required to save us from sin and sufferings in this world. The
unsparing God gave His only Son to provide the things we need for time and
eternity.
There are no unholy and selfish desires in the
heart of a Christian. A true Christian is motivated to pray by the normal
desires of spiritual life like a hungry son is moved to ask bread of his
father. The child's desire for food does not spring from force of habit, it is
a desire springing from the natural requirements of daily life. The incentive
to pray is as normal as the desire for food and drink. The very fact that the
desire exists is positive proof that it can be satisfied in a natural and
legitimate manner.
There is an intense longing after Christ like the
hunger and thirst of a person requiring food and drink. Such a desire cannot
be satisfied with anything less than a manifestation of the living Lord. There
is a desire to know more about His enduring love. There is a desire to linger
long in sacred worship and holy communion with Him in the quiet place of
prayer. A Christian says,
"My soul followeth hard after thee..." -- Psa. 63:8
The inspired writer voiced his desire when he said,
"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee,
O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and
appear before God?" -- Psa. 42:1, 2
A man can earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow, and allay his thirst
at the springs flowing out of the earth, but a man that hungers and thirsts
after Christ must have the bread from heaven to satisfy his hunger, and drink
the living water from the fountain of life to slake his thirst.
We desire a freedom which cannot be obtained
while we live in this body. We long to be delivered from our earthly bondage
into the glorious liberty of the first resurrection. In this human body we
yearn, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from
heaven.
"For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that
we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up
of life." -- 2 Cor. 5:4
When the eternal purpose of Christ has been
completed, the saints shall be delivered from the presence of sin and sorrows
which have troubled them in this unhappy earth. In that glad hour they shall
experience the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
God's redeemed children have no continuing city
in this world. They look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
maker is God. Their citizenship is in heaven; from whence they also look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change their infirm bodies, that
they may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working
wherewith He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. When these things
shall come to pass, then shall we obtain the end of our faith, even the
salvation of our souls.