Tuesday: 6:30PM Clean Church

Wednesday: 7:00PM- Prayer 7:35- Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

Thursday: 7:00PM Men's & Women's Bible Study

(Spanish Service @ 9:00AM, Book of Acts)

The Word of Grace Devotion for the Week of March 3, 2014

Pray!

Mark 11:22-25, “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³Truly, 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. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Beloved, these few verses are made up of three general facets: faith, petition and forgiveness.

Concerning faith because Mark 11:23 says, “and does not doubt in his heart.” We know that Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Maybe another word for faith would be trust. When we pray we need to trust that the Lord hears our prayers, understands our need and desires to meet that need according to His will. Beloved, we can trust the Lord. He is always faithful.

Secondly, we are to petition the Lord for our needs as Mark 11:24b says, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” James 4:2-3 says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Beloved, when we ask the Lord to work in our lives, our asking must be in line with His will. His Word is His will. If we ask according to His will it will be done! But we need to ask as James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.” 

Thirdly, the Lord ties forgiveness together with petition and faith. Mark 11:25 says, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of God’s blessings. We understand the beauty of receiving the forgiveness of our sins. Thank you Jesus for lifting that weight off of our shoulders. We need to extend that same forgiveness to others because it affects our prayer life.

Beloved, PRAY! Pray with faith, pray with conviction, and pray with forgiveness. Pray because we may not have simply because we have not asked!

I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you!

In His Strength,

Pastor Joe