Ask!

 

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:24 ESV

Taken out of context, we might assume that we can ask for a private jet and expect to receive it! In context, Jesus had cursed a fig tree which had withered. He had also told His disciples they could have the faith to cast a mountain down into the sea.

The meaning of the context is that the Jewish people, by rejecting their Messiah, invited judgement on themselves. Only about 40 years later, the Jewish people were devastated by the Romans. The Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in A.D. 70 as they crushed a rebellion.

By implication, I think Jesus was hinting to His disciples to pray for justice for the Jews who rejected Him. He also wanted them to pray for the vindication of their faith in Him. Old Testament Judaism is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

The temple in Jerusalem is no longer needed because God presences Himself with His people by His Holy Spirit. If we want God’s presence with us, we just need to ask Him and believe we will receive it. Christ is the fulfilment of the Jewish Scriptures.

‘Heavenly Father, please help us to pray in accordance with Your will, and in faith that You will answer us. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen’

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