When You Pray, Believe That You Have Received and it Will Be Yours

Jesus said, “all things are possible for those who believe,” and “believe that you HAVE RECEIVED and it WILL BE yours.” We can either take him at his word or come up with all kinds of explanations and rationalizations about why he didn’t really mean those things. Folks will bring up theological points like context and audience, but the bottom line is, he said them.

For reference purposes, here are the passages:

MARK 9:22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

“All things are possible for those who believe,”
“believe that you HAVE RECEIVED, and it WILL BE yours.”

You could say all things are possible for those who believe they have received.

Where does your mind go when you read those statements? Do you say amen, and that’s it, no matter the circumstance? Do you think of a time you prayed and nothing happened? Do you think of a time when you felt like you had a word from God, but it didn’t happen? Do you think of a theological system you were taught and reason these passages into a comfortable place in your mind? Where do your thoughts go when you read those statements? Your thoughts and emotions will give you a clue about what you believe in your heart.

Believe that you have received what?

“Believe that you have received, and it will be yours.” Believe that you have received what? What can you legally expect to receive? What can you legitimately pray for and expect to receive if you believe? Everything that God has given you in Christ.

So that begs the question, what has he given you in Christ? Everything he accomplished, paid for, and received in Christ’s atoning work.

What did he accomplish and pay for? That’s the real question.

Look at it from this perspective; We received an inheritance from God. Jesus died as the testator of God’s last will and testament to enact everything that God left us in his will.

Jesus died to leave us an inheritance

Hebrews 9:   15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. 17 For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

We are joint-heirs with Jesus, heirs of God

 Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Jesus inherited Heaven and all that God has

Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness as our inheritance made secure forever in the shed blood of Jesus.

It’s legal for you to expect everything consistent with the nature and character of God. For instance, God is a healer, provider, comforter, counselor, and father; it is legal for you to expect to experience God in all of those capacities. It’s is theologically correct for you to expect to receive from God things that are consistent with those aspects of his character. He has given them to you, and they are yours, as you believe.

Homework Assignment

If I may, I’d like to give you a homework assignment. Make a list of all the things Jesus accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection. Just start with a list of things you know, write them down. Then list the scriptures for those things; it’s ok to use a search engine to help you. Then meditate on the fact that each one of those things is yours now. I’d love to see your lists in the comments.

What Do We Know?

The scientific world asks, “what do we know” when seeking to establish accurate results. The Law Enforcement community asks, “what do we know” when trying to examine evidence and find the truth. The same question can be asked when seeking to establish God’s Word in your heart.

“What do I know to be true about God” is an excellent question to ponder when you pray. Start with what you know is true, then pray about the things you need to pray.

Our prayers are usually motivated by need, fear, and worry. It’s ok to pray about what you need and the things that you’re worried about, just make sure you know what God has said about those things before you pray.

For example, if you are in debt or you’re behind on your bills, and you pray to God for financial help, make sure your heart is aware of who God is regarding finances.

“Father, I know you are a provider. I know you desire to meet my needs out of your riches in glory, exceedingly, abundantly above all I can ask or think. I know you are a good father who will not give me stones when I ask for bread. I know that Jesus was made poor that I could become rich. I know you desire to bless me so I can be a blessing to others. I thank you that you know what I need before I even ask. I thank you that you want me to be prosperous and be in health above everything else. I know you can make a way where there is no way. I thank you for the testimony of Jesus finding money in a fish’s mouth. I thank you that we have the testimony of Jesus multiplying food. I thank you that your spirit is in me, leading me and guiding me into all truth. Because you are a provider and want all these things for me, I can rest in you, I can trust you, I can let go of fear and worry and be confident that you will lead me into success. I am willing to do whatever you lead me to do, Father, thank you for a clear step to take to experience you as my provider.”

Think of an area you have been praying about and craft a prayer like this that is more focused on who he is than you need.

How Do We Know What We Know?

The idea is to become aware of who God is and acknowledge that he is that in your life. You don’t even have to ask him for things. He knows what you need. A better way to pray is to acknowledge who he is simply. Meditate on who he is until you are more moved by who he is than your need. Meditate and pray on the nature and presence of God until he is more real than your struggle. Become confident in God in your heart, and then something very magical happens, the kingdom and off of God’s promises will grow into your life.

Here’s how Jesus explains it in Mark 4 —

The kingdom of God is as if a farmer should scatter seed on the ground. The ground is your heart. The farmer sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed (Word/kingdom) sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The seed produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

God’s word will bear fruit after its kind. When you meditate on who he is (spreading seed in your heart), his kingdom will grow in you and into your life. We don’t know how it works, we can’t control the process, but if we allow his word to abide in us, his word, his promises will manifest in our lives.

Prayer is a time to spread seed in your heart and your life. Prayer is the continual watering and cultivation of that seed you’ve spread. It’s important NOT to let worry, fear, cares of this world, and the lust of other things choke out those seeds from growing.

Pray God’s character into your life. Pray the identity of God rather than rehearsing your problems. Pray God’s truth and watch your life reflect his will.

You Must Be Sanctified to Encounter the Presence of God

Coming in contact with the presence of God will kill you if you have not been appropriately sanctified. Sanctification means to be cleansed or purified in a specific way. Once something is consecrated, it is holy, or fit for use by God.

Under the Old Covenant, you sanctified yourself, under the New Covenant, Jesus is your sanctification. Under the OC, you cleansed your outer man. Under the NC, Jesus cleanses your inner man.

To be sanctified under the Old Covenant, you took a bath, washed your clothes, and abstained from sex for two days.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Exodus 19:9-11

That was for the average person; the sanctification process for the priests was much more involved. (See Exodus 29) Keep in Christians are kings and priests under the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10), so the Exodus 29 purification process would have applied to us.

I hope you read through Exodus 29 because it will make you thankful for New Covenant sanctification.

Hebrews 10:8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Holiness

To be clear, you have NO HOPE of being holy on your own!!! I can’t stress that enough. Jesus is your sanctification, which leaves you holy!!! From then on, you are to live worthy of that gift you were given in Christ.

Grace, God’s influence in your inner man, his spiritual strength in your heart, will teach you to live godly. You can not be holy in your behavior, but you can yield to his grace and be empowered to live worthy of the holiness he gave you in Christ.

Sanctification and Prayer

I wanted to lay out the idea of sanctification so I can talk about prayer for the rest of this article. Prayer is a time to spend in communion with the direct presence of God. That was impossible under the Old Covenant. If you encountered God’s presence, you died. Not so now, that presence lives in those who have placed faith in Christ. That means inside, you must be holy for God’s presence to live in there.

Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.—2 Corinthians 4:6-7

You can not make yourself holy, and you can not become more holy, you can only live in a manner that honors the work of Christ in you. The very fact that you have changed means you have a power in you that Old Covenant believers didn’t have, and you can live worthily. But how you live in and of itself is not your sanctification; the blood of Christ is.

Prayer is a time to turn your attention to God’s transformative and powerful spirit within you and yield to the shaping of his hands in your inner man.

You can not take enough baths or wash your clothes enough times to get God’s spirit inside you; only the blood of Jesus can wash you clean enough to be acceptable to interact with God.

Holiness is an acknowledgment of God’s presence within you!! Prayer is a time to reverently honor the work of Christ on your behalf and be thankful for making you a new creation that can be inhabited by God!!

How to Pray

When you pray, acknowledge that God is holy. Acknowledge that he is in you. And give thanks that he has done a work in you to qualify you to be inhabited by him.

Pray until you perceive his presence within you. Pray until your heart is confident in his power within you. Pray until you have hope that God is working on your behalf to bring about his goodwill in your life. Pray until your emotions match his promises. Pray until you believe that your circumstance really can change.

Too often we pray out of fear and worry. We “pray” and then go right back to the same fear and worry, as if God’s presence in our lives is ineffective.

Prayer is first and foremost a gift. It is a time to get your mind and heart in alignment with God’s promises and perspectives. If God said it, If Jesus paid for it, you have the legal right to expect it in your life, whatever the guarantee may be.

Prayer is not magic; it just shifts your inner man back to dependence on God. Prayer is a mind-renewal process. Pray until God’s promises are believable, then don’t back down and don’t lose heart.

I hope you take the time to listen to this sermon, I go into much more detail on this subject. I pray it’s a blessing to you.