Click here for the Mark 11:24-26 PODCAST
24 So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. 25 When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. 26 But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins. ~ Mark 11:24-26
Today, we come back to our study of Mark 11 where the Lord Jesus has been instructing His disciples on what it looks like to have a personal relationship with God. In order to experience a personal relationship with God, it is a must to have conversations with Him.
We were created to worship and what we worship defines us. With that said, our prayers are essential to our worship. Martin Luther once said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” If we are to have a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord, we must be biblical in our prayers.
In v.24 of today's passage we read, "So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you."
We must approach God with a believing heart if we are to realize the life we truly want. In fact, in James 4:3 we read, "When you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures." The assumption is that we are praying in accordance with God's will, and, if we are not, then, what is the point?
In v.25 of today's passage we read, "When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins."
Anger clouds our judgment and distorts truth. On a biological level, the difference is easily understood in the way the human body responds to stress and to factors that cause anxiety, fear, rage, and defensiveness. Once triggered, the limbic system of the body kicks in and our biological defense kicks in. Of course, the real issue is the choice to forgive.
There is always a relationship between vertical forgiveness and horizontal forgiveness. If we have been forgiven of the greatest debt that would keep us out of heaven forever, we unwise to hold onto our grudges towards others. Having experienced the grace of God for ourselves postures us to recognize the utter futility of choosing to not forgive another.
The greatest hindrance to having faith in God is our pride. The type of which refuses to forgive others. Pride is like a tsunami that consumes our whole life. All we can see is that big storm before us, blocking the way of God in our lives. In Psalm 66:18 David wrote: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” As believers in the Lord Jesus, we have been forgiven of our sin in total. However, when we choose not to forgive others, we will lack the power to remove the mountain of unforgiveness.
In v.26 of today's passage we read, "But if you don’t forgive other people, then your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins."
Holding onto a grudge and choosing not to forgive someone will impede our prayer life. But, when we forgive, it doesn't take long to recognize the real life that flows from God into our grace defined lives. Someone once said, "Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die." The one thing that blocks the flow of the life of God in our lives is this unwillingness to forgive. Israel missed out on this life because it would not forgive the Romans.
Instead of humbling themselves, Israel gathered its robes of self-righteousness about it and looked with pride up to God and said, "I thank God I am not like these other people." God says that is what ends life. And, not just a nation, this is what ends the spiritual life of an individual.
The evidence that we know our sins are forgiven us is that we are quick to forgive others. When the Lord Jesus said if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven by God, He did not mean we will lose or forfeit our salvation if we do not fully forgive every single person who wronged us. In fact, the "forgiveness" mentioned here is not about eternal salvation, at all. Rather, this is relational forgiveness. The parallel for this would be offending or sinning against one's spouse, without asking for forgiveness. That would hurt a marriage relationship, and result in distance or separation, but not an utter end to that commitment.
Our salvation is dependent solely on the work of the Lord Jesus, on the cross, not our ability to remember every single sin and repent of them. God designed us for community, honesty, and humility. If we sin against someone else without asking for their forgiveness, we sin against God. If we stubbornly refuse to forgive others, we're not reflecting appreciation for the forgiveness we, ourselves, have received.
