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Two Important Ingredients To Answered Prayer

(Mk 11:24-26) “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. How important is Faith and Forgiveness to answered prayer in the above verses? 1) Prayer without faith is useless. Preceding the above verses Jesus used a cursed and dried up fig tree to teach on what a prayer life is like without faith, adding also that prayer with faith however brings “whatsoever you desire.” Faith therefore is necessary to “receive” from God.2) Prayer without forgiveness is dead. The prayers of an unforgiving Christian cannot be honored by God. Why? Because God commands that those who seek forgiveness must not harbor unforgiveness in their hearts. Being offended is just a part of life, therefore how we handle those that offend us determines not just our fellowship with God but answered prayers. (Eph. 4:32) “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” We therefore must forgive others with just as much forgiveness as God has granted to us !

 

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