Let us read Mark 11:22-24, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

These verses give us a lesson about faith.  How do we get faith?  Let us remember what we are taught in Romans 10:17, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our faith is increased as we spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word, the Bible.  As we study God’s Word, we will get to know what is pleasing to our Father and Lord Jesus Christ.  We are then “transformed” by the renewing of our minds, as we read in Romans 12:2.

He gives us new desires that please our Savior, not selfish desires.  As we read in Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” If we are delighting in the Lord, then we will desire the things that He desires.  As we see in 2 Timothy 2:4, to “please Him” will become the central goal of our lives.

So Mark 11:24 is not a promise from the Lord Jesus that guarantees that we will receive all of our selfish cravings.  This principle is explained in James 4:2-3. These verses state, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Instead, Mark 11:24 is a promise that we will receive anything that we ask for in faith.  These things will be things that honor the Lord and that He desires for us. The Lord loves us too much to give us every luxury that appeals to us.  He knows that it would not be good for us and would draw our attention away from our greatest need:  Christ Himself!  (181.9)  (DJ)