A LESSON ON PRAYER (Mark 11:22-26)
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus uses the discovery of the withered fig tree to teach His disciples the goodness that God shows by giving access to His power through prayer. Let me remind you where we left off last Sunday, it was Wednesday morning of Passion Week and the Lord Jesus and His disciples were walking from Bethany to Jerusalem. The day before, Tuesday, Jesus had cursed a fig tree that was in leaf but bore no fruit. This was an object lesson of the future destruction of the temple and Jerusalem because of their own fruitlessness brought on by their hypocrisy and unbelief.
Why would Jesus choose this discovery to insert this lesson on prayer for His disciples? Jesus often stressed the importance of prayer and had even taught them how to pray when they had asked Him to teach them. This lesson came at an important time since in just a few short days Jesus Christ, God in human flesh would no longer be physically present with the disciples. His physical presence with them had possibly caused them to not focus on their personal prayer lives. There was little reason to pray to God for what they could ask for and receive directly from Jesus. He provided provision, direction, protection, correction, and the patient and repeated instruction they needed.
That familiar experience of always having Jesus with them was about to change in a very drastic way, they would go from always having Him with them to not having Him present with them at all. Suddenly they would become like those believers who have never had Jesus physically present with them and have depended only on prayer to access God’s power and provision for their needs. Because the disciples would become completely dependent on one whom they could not see, this in itself would be a huge change for them, and they needed to know that the Lord Jesus would sustain them through the means of prayer. In this passage we will see five elements of effective prayer. Let’s pray and get into our passage of Scripture.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles again to Mark 11:22-26, just a few verses this morning. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 11:22-26,
“And Jesus answered saying to them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.’ ” (Mark 11:22–26, NASB95)[1]
PRAYER’S HISTORICAL ELEMENT (Mark 11:20-21)
As Jesus and His disciples made their way back to Bethany on Tuesday evening in the darkness they did not notice the fig tree that Jesus had cursed that morning. But as they passed it the next morning, Wednesday morning, they saw that it was withered from the roots up. Mark writes in verse 21, “Being reminded, Peter said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.’ ” (Mark 11:21, NASB95)[2] To transition from Peter’s statement to a lesson on prayer seems somewhat abrupt. But there is a connection here, and it is that the cursing of the fig tree demonstrated the power of divine judgment. According to the parallel passage in Matthew 21, Peter along with the rest of the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” (Matthew 21:20b, NASB95)[3] The Twelve wanted to know how that display of divine judgmental power took place. The Lord Jesus in His response told them that power came from God, and they could access that same power through prayer.
The disciples remembering and making reference to the miraculous withering of the fig tree demonstrates for us the historical element or foundation of effective prayer. If God can miraculously affect a tree, then we can be assured that He will powerfully provide for His people. If you desire to be confident when you pray, start by remembering how God has shown His power in the past. There would little or no motive to call on God in prayer for help in the present or the future if He had not shown His power in the past. In the book of Deuteronomy Moses repeatedly charged Israel, as they were about to enter the land of promise, to remember what God had done for them in the past (4:10; 5:15; 7:18; 8:2, 18; 9:7; 15:15; 16:3, 12; 24:9, 18, 22). God speaking through the prophet Isaiah challenged Israel in Isaiah 46:8-10, “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;” (Isaiah 46:8–10, NASB95)[4] In Psalm 77, which Bob read the second half to us this morning for our Scripture reading, this psalm was written by Asaph and in the first ten verses he expresses his despair over God’s apparent forsaking of him. Then in verses 11-20, the second half, Asaph encourages himself by remembering God’s past acts of power. The psalmist of Psalm 105:5 called on God’s people to “Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth,” (Psalm 105:5, NASB95)[5] David in Psalm 143 is overwhelmed with despair because of his enemies, but in the midst of this despair David says in verse 5, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands.” (Psalm 143:5, NASB95)[6] The Old Testament, the New Testament, and the record of the history of the redeemed church provide a strong foundation of confidence that God hears and answers the prayers of His people.
PRAYER’S THEOLOGICAL ELEMENT (Mark 11:22)
Peter stated that the tree which the Lord had cursed had withered. In response to Peter, the Lord Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22b, NASB95)[7] Our Lord’s response is a call to trust God and not doubt Him. The theological element of prayer is not concerned with the nature of a person’s faith but rather the character of the living God. If you desire to have an effective prayer life, then you must understand that it requires trusting God’s power, purpose, promise, plans, and will. With this trust, then our purpose in prayer focuses on honoring God’s name, praying for the advancing of His kingdom, and praying for the strength and power to accomplish His will. Often our prayers are just the opposite, as if we have a genie to grant our every wish, but we must understand that selfish prayers will not be answered. James 4:3 tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3, NASB95)[8] The apostle John in 1st John 5:14 stresses that our prayer must be in line with God’s will. He writes, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14, NASB95)[9] Paul provides us with an example of trusting God even when the outcome may not be what you expected. He writes in Philippians 1:12-14, “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” (Philippians 1:12–14, NASB95)[10] I am sure that if Paul had a choice He would not have chosen prison, but in this we see God’s faithfulness in allowing Paul’s powerful witness to the Word of God despite the circumstances he found himself in, to be an encouragement to the other Christians in Rome to trust in God and boldly preach the Gospel.
PRAYER’S SPIRITUAL ELEMENT (Mark 11:23)
Trusting God is very personal and practical, and Jesus shows us this in verse 23. The Lord’s promise here is very broad and generous. The Lord Jesus begins this promise with the word that is translated as “Truly,” a word that is used repeatedly in the New Testament and used almost exclusively for emphasis. The “whoever” of this verse is all believers and thus the principle in this promise is for all who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus.
The mountain that Jesus is referring to in this verse is not a particular mountain, but rather He was using the term in a hypothetical sense. He was not speaking of casting a literal mountain into the sea as if that would occur commonly. His statement, ““Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him.” (Mark 11:23, NASB95)[11] This was a figure of speech intended to teach a spiritual principle. Jewish rabbis who displayed extraordinary ability to solve difficult problems were sometimes called removers of mountains.
In other words, Jesus is saying that when someone is confronted with an overwhelming issue that appears to not have an apparent human solution, if a believer does not doubt in his heart, but believes what he says is going to happen, his prayer request will be granted him. The doubt to which Jesus is referring to in this verse is not doubting one’s faith, some would have us believe that, if you just had more faith then your prayer would be answered. Faith in itself has no power, it merely accesses God’s power. The caution that Jesus is making here is not doubting God’s nature and power. James cautioned this same thing when we are asking God for wisdom in prayer. He writes in James 1:6-8, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6–8, NASB95)[12]
It does not require a lot of faith for God to act on our behalf with His power. We have examples of this in Scripture. Peter had faith that was strong enough to climb out of his boat and walk on the water toward Jesus, yet his faith failed him before he reached Jesus causing the Lord to label it as “little faith” (Matthew 14:28-31). The father of the demon-possessed boy when the disciples failed to cast out the demon expressed doubt as to whether Jesus could cast out the demon. Jesus rebuked the man’s weak faith when He said, “All things are possible to him who believes,” immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” That weak, imperfect faith was enough; Jesus cast the demon out of the boy. (Mark 9:22-27) Several times the Lord Jesus rebuked the disciples for their little faith in God’s provision, protection, and power. (Matthew 6:30; 16;8-10; 8;24-26; 17:19-20) There is no faith that is perfect, unmixed with doubt. But even weak faith that is confident in the person and power of God is enough to bring about God’s power.
PRAYER’S PRACTICAL ELEMENT (Mark 11:24)
Prayer’s practical element should be obvious to us, it is not only practical but necessary. The only way to receive the “all things” of which Jesus promises in verse 24 is through prayer in which one asks for them. James said this very clearly to his readers in Jamess 4:2, “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2b, NASB95)[13] Jesus said much the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7–11, NASB95)[14]
But we must be clear about what Jesus is saying here in Mark 11:24. When Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” (Mark 11:24, NASB95)[15] Jesus’ promise here is not a blank check in which He guarantees to grant all the greedy, selfish requests that you may bring Him. This promise and other ones like it must be qualified with the rest of Scripture. All prayer requests must be consistent with God’s will. James after making the statement I just read from James 4:2 where he said, “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2b, NASB95)[16] He then cautioned them in 4:3 by saying, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3, NASB95)[17] Jesus when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane cried, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; but then He added “yet not what I will, but what You will.”” (Mark 14:36, NASB95)[18]
Jesus spoke of this truth and stressed that our prayers must be consistent with God’s will when He was with His disciples in the upper room. In John 14:13-14 He said, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14, NASB95)[19] Do you see the qualifier here? If you ask in My name means to be consistent with His person and purpose. Again, He stresses this in John 15:7, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7, NASB95)[20] A few verses later in John 15:16 Jesus says, ““You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” (John 15:16, NASB95)[21] Then again in John 16:23-24 Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23–24, NASB95)[22]
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the awesome privilege and responsibility to pour out our hearts to God in persistent, passionate prayer, but our prayers must always be qualified by the desire of God’s will, and not our own, be done. When we pray in this way we are acknowledging that God’s will is greater, purer, wiser, more generous, more gracious, and more merciful than anything we could ever imagine.
PRAYER’S MORAL ELEMENT (Mark 11:25-26)
Jesus made one final statement concerning effective prayer. He said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” (Mark 11:25, NASB95) This truth repeats Christ’s teaching on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:14. Mark ll:26 does not appear here in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts of the New Testament. It was most likely inserted at a later time by an unknown scribe. If you have a NIV or an ESV translation then you do not have verse 26, you go from verse 25 to verse 27. Verse 26 will be in your footnotes. Jesus says that when you stand praying, referring to the most common posture for prayer at that time in Israel. Then the Lord Jesus added a command to this final statement on prayer, He said, “forgive, if you have anything against anyone,” this gives us the moral element of prayer. Forgiveness of others is required of believers “so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” Now understand that the forgiveness in view here is not the eternal forgiveness that we receive at salvation, which is not based on works and cannot be lost. Jesus here and in the Sermon on the Mount is referring to relational forgiveness. The sins that are a part of a Christian’s daily life and that disrupt their enjoyment of fellowship with the Lord. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet in the upper room before the last supper illustrates this difference between eternal forgiveness and relational forgiveness. This is recorded for us in John 13:6-10, “So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, do You wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’ Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ ” (John 13:6–10, NASB95)[23] Peter was appalled that the Lord Jesus, God in human flesh would do this task that was the task of the lowest of slaves. Peter protested. But when Jesus told him that it was necessary if he were to have any part with Him Peter went completely the other way and asked the Lord to wash his entire body, not merely his feet. Jesus replied that those who have bathed, that is washed clean of sin through eternal salvation, need only their feet washed. The complete cleansing of those who are redeemed at salvation does not ever need to be repeated. But they still need the daily cleansing of sanctification from the defilement of the indwelling sin nature that remains in them and attracts them to sin.
Trying to pray while holding on to an unforgiving attitude against another person is self-defeating. Since God’s Word commands those who have put their faith in Christ to, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32, NASB95)[24] To fail to do this is sin. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;” (Psalm 66:18, NASB95) To regard wickedness in our heart is to look upon it with favor and refuse to confess and forsake it. The result is your prayers will not be heard. The choice we have is clear, hold a grudge or have your prayers heard.
CONCLUSION:
Do you want an effective prayer life? Jesus in these few short verses gave us the elements that make for an effective prayer life. An effective prayer life begins with remembering how God has displayed His power in the past, when we do this we will have confidence in prayer. The second element of an effective prayer life is faith or trust in God, and this means that our trust is in the character of the living God, this means our trust is in God’s power, purpose, promise, plans, and will. Third, an effective prayer life does not doubt God’s nature or power, even when we are confronted by something that seems impossible to solve. No one’s faith is perfect, unmixed with doubt. But even weak but confidently prayerful faith in the person and power of God is enough for God to act in power on our behalf. Fourth, an effective prayer life is one that all the requests that are made are consistent with God’s will. Finally, the last element of an effective prayer life is keeping short accounts with God, to forgive those you may have something against. To attempt to pray while harboring an unforgiving attitude against another person is self-defeating. In other words, one cannot accept the full, gracious forgiveness of God and then be unforgiving to someone else. Incorporating these elements into your prayer life will make you an effective prayer and God’s power will be seen in the prayers He answers on your behalf.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[18]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[19]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[20]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[21]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[22]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[23]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[24]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.