“Walking with Jesus”
This morning as I spent time with the Lord He reminded me of an important lesson. The Prophet Amos asks a question, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?” Of course the answer is no. But how many times are we attempting to do what we want and asking God to bless it? The Lord then reminded me of this truth, our flesh (human desires) are at war with the Spirit of God. Why? They are wanting to walk in opposite directions therefore creating conflict. The only answer and cure is Christ Jesus!
In today’s scripture Jesus is teaching a similar message concerning prayer and forgiveness. I certainly do not pretend to have all of the answers or understand all Jesus has taught us. But I will share what I know concerning His teaching.
Mark 11:24-25
I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Jesus is teaching and giving His followers permission to pray for anything. Understand as Jesus is teaching this He is also assuming His followers love Him and others. Therefore Jesus is also assuming His followers would be praying in the Spirit and not the flesh. This scripture has been taken out of context and taught to many times. We as followers of Jesus are given an incredible promise in the Book of Psalms. We are told, “delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Notice the condition connected to the promise. This is what Jesus is talking about. We will receive anything we ask for when it agrees with the Father’s will and desire. We will know His will when we walk in His Spirit.
This is why Jesus is connecting forgiveness with answered prayer. If we are holding a grudge against someone, we are not walking in love therefore we are not walking in His Spirit, therefore God has no obligation to answer our prayers. If we want God to answer our prayers we must be willing to forgive others and live at peace among all people as much as it depends on us. Unforgiveness disrupts the intimacy between us and God, so it also disrupts our prayer life.
When we choose to walk in God’s Spirit rather than our flesh He will help us forgive and live at peace. His Spirit produces love and God’s love dismantles fear, pride and vengeance. God’s love will seek peace, unity and harmony. Walking in God’s love will also produce a powerful and effective prayer life!
Forgiveness = Life, Peace and Freedom
Unforgiveness = Death, Conflict and Bondage
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