When You Ask for Something, Believe God Will Answer
By Rick Warren
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 NIV).
If I gave you a check today for a thousand dollars, would you withhold your thanks until you knew it wouldn’t bounce? Anyone who knows me would think, “This is a pretty good guy. I’m sure he has enough in his account to cover it. I’ll thank him right now.” You’d thank me before you received the cash — and then you would take the check to the bank.
God’s promises are better than any of our promises. Before we even receive what he has promised, we can say, “Thank you, God, that what you said is going to happen, will happen.”
There’s a great example of this in God’s “Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11. Remember Joshua and Jericho, where the walls fell down? How did they fall down? Hebrews 11:30 says,“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days” (NIV).
The people of Israel were going into the Promised Land, where the powerful city of Jericho was located. God promised he was going to let the Israelites into the city and then gave them his plan: “I want you to go and march around Jericho for seven days. Then on the seventh day, I want you to march around the city seven times, thanking me for the victory that’s going to come.” And when they did that, the walls just fell. God did what he promised!
I’ve often thought, “What if I’d been one of those people marching around the walls for seven days?” Some of the people had to be looking at the walls, getting more and more worried and wondering how God could ever bring the walls down. But a lot of those people had faith instead. And every day they looked at the wall and thought about what God could do and thanked him in advance.
This is the kind of life that God wants you to live, the thanking-God-in-advance kind of life. Jesus talked about it in Mark 11:24: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (NIV).
When you ask God for something, if you don’t believe, then why even ask? It’s an empty exercise. But if you pray and ask God for something, Jesus said, believe that he’s going to do it. Thank him in advance for what only he can do. And then look for how he answers your prayer.
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Talk It Over
What promises from God are you claiming when you pray? How can you find more of God’s promises?
How does your prayer life reveal the depth of your spiritual maturity?
What have you been asking God for? Do you believe that he will keep his promises? Why or why not?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Put Jesus at the center of your Christmas!
Many people step into the Christmas season run down and worn out. And by the time January rolls around, they’re so exhausted that they’ve completely missed the real reason for the season.
But there’s really no better time to recalibrate your heart toward Jesus than during the holidays. And Pastor Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose of Christmas, can help you fill your Christmas with more of God’s love and peace by making Christ the center of your life.
This resource shows you . . .
• What Christmas means for your salvation
• How to surrender to God’s will
• Practical steps to overcome discouragement
• Why we celebrate Christmas at all
• How Christmas can be a time to make peace with others
The Purpose of Christmas is our way to thank you for your gift below to help more people learn, love, and live the Word – so request your copy when you give!
From all of us at Daily Hope, may you experience God’s peace and joy this holiday season!
This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
