Consider these questions as we dwell in Mark 11:20-25:

1. How does Jesus use the fig tree incident to initiate a discussion about prayer with his disciples? What is the main message he wants them to understand about faith and prayer?

2. What does Jesus mean when he speaks of moving mountains through prayer? How should we interpret this statement in light of the broader context of Jesus' teachings on prayer and God's will?

3. Why is it crucial for believers to align their prayers with God's will? How does the concept of forgiveness play a significant role in our approach to prayer according to Jesus' teaching?

Transcript:

Our passage for today has this going back to that fig tree from just a few verses ago. They're coming back to Jerusalem and they see the fig tree again. It's the morning, and Peter notices and points out that what Jesus had commanded, what he had cursed had come to pass. And so, Jesus takes this opportunity to have a little discussion with his disciples about prayer, and he says to them to have faith in God. Now, Jesus goes on to use some hyperbole. He says, Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown to the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, believes that what he says will come to pass, it'll be done for him. ' Now, is Jesus suggesting that his disciples should renovate the landscape of the Middle East using their faith? No, he is not. That's why I said that he's using hyperbole. He's saying that even though things may seem impossible, if we ask with faith and we trust in God, it is possible. Now, the important thing for us to remember here is that Jesus is calling His disciples to pray for the things of God.

Remember how Jesus taught His disciples to pray? Thy will be done. And so, the most important thing about our prayers is not us having faith that God will give us whatever we ask. This passage has been twisted in that way far too many times. Jesus understands and is hoping his disciples understands that if we are in alignment with what God desires, we're not going to be asking for a million dollars. We are not going to be asking for a brand new car with all the bells and whistles. We're going to be praying that God's will will be done. We'll be saying things like, give us our day our daily bread that we are asking God to provide for our needs, and we're trusting that that will happen. And so, the important thing for us here is, yes, we should pray boldly. Yes, we should believe that God will answer our prayers. But the first question we need to ask, is my heart in alignment with how God asked me to pray? Is my heart in alignment with what his will should be for my life? And so, what does Jesus go on to say? Whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, that you should be in a state of forgiving other people their sins.

Why? Because we understand that God will forgive our sins. And so, if he has first forgiven us, then we know that we should be forgiving others. And that is the place where our hearts needs to be when we are in prayer before our God, is it not? That we're looking at what he has done and what he has blessed us with. And we are trying to be grateful for that in such a way that this is now shaping how we pray and who we pray for and how much we trust God to give it. But most importantly, we want to make sure that we are saying that prayer, thy will be done, that we are in a place where we can accept the answer that we received for prayer. The problem that we come against is we think that we don't have enough faith. But the truth of the matter is God's will is great. And it isn't that we don't have enough faith to get that big thing we're praying for. The issue is that we aren't praying for the things that God desires us to have. We're not ready to submit our lives to his will.

And so, that's the place we need to be at when we go to a place of prayer. And we need to trust that God will answer those things because they are in accordance with his will, and our hearts are following after him. And so, may that be what we desire today to seek God's will first and foremost, and may our hearts be filled with prayer asking that God's will would be done because it will be done. And so may we be a people of God who submit ourselves to that will and trust that He will answer our prayers because He is a good and loving God who gives us what we need. And we know that He gives us what we need because He has given us the Lord Jesus Christ.