Believe

 Mark 11:24 ESV

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


This verse sounds like a blank cheque. So if we believe for a private jet we get it? Not necessarily!

The Bible is a spiritual book, not a get rich manual. In the context, Jesus is talking about forgiveness. If we believe God will forgive us, he will (but we must also be forgiving). 

People sometimes mistake forgiveness with trust. Just because we are to forgive those who wrong us doesn't mean to say we should necessarily trust them anymore.

A similar promise elsewhere adds the caveat that we must ask according to God's will. Does God want us filthy rich? Probably not: it isn't wrong to make money, but it is wrong to stingily horde it.

'Dear Lord God, we ask not necessarily that you would make us rich, but that you would forgive us. Help us prioritise what matters and to be generous with what we have. For the honour of Christ we pray, amen'.

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