When there is a crisis in our lives our only hope is Christ. You - we - have to get an answer from God! When Jesus was on earth, people asked Him direct for what they wanted. We have to do the same, but through prayer. I want to teach you three keys to receive a miracle: Prayer, Faith and Relationship.
The Bible teaches us clearly - God answers prayer - always! He has all power, all authority! Persist! You have to learn this lesson: keep on asking! Talk to the Lord. Call on Him until you get your answer. Persist. Don’t quit. Don’t stop asking until you get your miracle. That is why the Bible says to ‘pray without ceasing’!
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” So Jesus answered and said to them, “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. (Mark 11:20-24, NKJV)
Mark 11 is so revolutionary, so powerful, it has changed my life! Jesus saw a fig tree full of leaves and He came hoping to find some figs (v13). But He found nothing but leaves. - I don’t want you to be like that tree, all show, full of leaves, but no fruit. I want you to be the strongest believers anywhere in the world: people with fire, people with power, people who pray, people who will change the world!
So what did Jesus do with the fig tree? Jesus said: “Let no man ever eat fruit from you again!” And the disciples heard what He said. Next morning (v20), as they came from Bethany to the Mount of Olives, they saw the fig tree was dead. Peter remembered: “Jesus, this is the tree You cursed! And it is dead already!” And Jesus looked straight at Peter and at every Christian - at every one of us - and this is what He said, (v22), “Wake up! Have faith in God!” Did you hear? - Have faith in God! Then He said (v23): “Truly I say to you, whoever you are, look up, see the mountain over there - if you have got faith in God, you will say to that mountain ‘be cast down into the sea’ and if you don’t doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, you shall have whatever you say!” Wow! If you really believe what you say, you will speak - and the mountain will move! Whatever you say, if you speak with faith and authority, and don’t doubt, you will be healed, your family will be blessed, your financial burden will move - even if those things are mountains in your life!
Do you have mountains in your life? Have faith in God! Command them to go! God is in the business of moving mountains! But you must declare (and actually believe, with no doubts), that in the Name of Jesus, they shall be moved!
What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:24, KJV)
‘Whatever you desire, when you pray’ - Now this is quite a challenge. Here, Jesus is not just linking faith with prayer, but He is linking desire with prayer. ‘Whatsoever you desire…’ What is in your heart? God promised to give us the desires of our hearts, or as one translation puts it, ‘the secret petitions of our heart’. This is clearly a time when we are requesting something of the Lord. Jesus says, ‘Only if we ask in faith, believing that the answer will come, will the miracle happen, and will we get the answer.’
Far too many people pray without any real belief that God will answer them. I want to remind you, even when we pray the sinners prayer, we must believe that God has heard and answered us. The writer to the Hebrews said, ‘He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’ (11:6). We must come to God with a positive expectation of faith, believing that when we ask according to His Will, not only does He hear us, but He will answer! God rewards faith!
Jesus is very clear, when we pray we should have the faith to believe that we will get the answer. We need faith like a grain of mustard seed. Why mustard seed? It has the reputation of being one of the smallest seeds, yet it grows into a magnificent tree. It is the same with faith: faith starts as a seed of belief that the miracle can happen. And when the miracle happens it grows and blossoms into something beautiful.
Whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My Name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14, KJV)
It is so important when discussing faith and prayer, to understand who Jesus is. A major part of my ministry has been to demonstrate who the real Jesus is; that He is the Son of God with Power and Authority. If we trust Him and believe in Him, then whatever we ask the Father in His Name, He will do! We have a covenant relationship with God. He is our Father. You are His child. It is His good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV)