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Mark 11:20-26
In Mark 11:20-26 is a passage of Scripture that, I believe, may be misinterpreted and misunderstood by many people. Jesus is confronted by His disciples, being led by Peter, as they pass by the fig tree that Jesus cursed the day before. Peter declares in Mark 11:21 (NKJV), “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” Jesus replies with a lesson about faith and forgiveness as He states in Mark 11:22-26, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
This is a promise that believing in God requires one to forgive others in reflection of God forgiving you.
This seems pretty simple, right? Believe in what you ask God for and forgive others, and whatever you pray for will come true, right? Do we really believe, do we really have faith that can move mountains? Let’s say you do; but in that faith, have you forgiven everyone who has ever done you wrong? Really? That means the person that you have discarded as not being worthy of receiving forgiveness too, or the one who has done something so bad that you don’t see how God could ever forgive them, so why should you? This means that person too. Jesus did not say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him [except for the ones that are really bad] should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), And the Bible does not teach us in Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved [except for those who have been really bad and don’t deserve forgiveness]. We don’t make the rules. We don’t decide for God who is worthy of forgiveness and who is not. The truth is that we are all undeserving of forgiveness (Romans 3:23). The real heart of the matter is described by Jesus in John 15:5-8, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Dear LORD,
We are arrogant; we are conceited; and we are proud to think that we are deserving of Your great love and that we have the faith and forgiveness in our hearts to have the confidence in our relationship with You to ask You for anything and believe that we are deserving of Your grace and mercy. LORD, please help us to come to You in prayer with sincere hearts that yearn for what is just and right in Your eyes, not our own. And LORD, please help us to realize and understand that it is in humility, as Jesus on the cross to die for our sins, that You truly seek in us as we come to You with our prayers. Please help us to believe, accept, and receive the faith that can move mountains – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.