Faith Is Thanking God in Advance

In review of Mark 11:24 it says, “When you pray and you ask for something, believe that you have received it and you will be given what you asked for”

Bottom Line:

Faith is thanking God in advance

What this means to me:

Faith on my part is thanking God in advance, believing that He will give what I ask for.

As I read the context around this passage this morning, I see that the kind of prayer that moves mountains is the prayer for the fruitfulness of God’s Kingdom. God will answer my prayers, but not as a result of my positive thinking, but rather as a result of: (1) I must not hold a grudge against another person, (2) I must not pray with selfish motives, (3) my request must be for the good of God’s Kingdom and helping others. For me to pray effectively, I need faith in God, not faith in the object of my request. If my focus is only on my request, I will be left with nothing if my request is refused.

My prayers can be motivated by my own interests and desires. I’d like to hear that I can have anything. But Jesus prayed with God’s interests in mind. When I pray, I can express my desires, but I should want his will above my own.

So what I’m learning is that faith is not believing God can do something. Faith is not hoping he will do something. Faith is thanking God in advance.

Jesus said, “When you pray and you ask for something, believe that you have received it and you will be given what you asked for” (Mark 11:24 GNT).

Thanking God after I’ve got it, is gratitude. But When I thank him in advance, it’s called faith. It’s much like this illustration, If someone handed me a check right now for a thousand dollars, I wouldn’t wait until I cashed it to say “thank you”? I’d thank that person right away. Yet the thousand dollars wouldn’t really be mine until I actually cashed it, because that check is simply a promise. When I’m given the check, I can genuinely say thanks, believing that the promise is credible and that the person has enough money in the bank to cover that amount.

Faith is like that. It is thanking God in advance. Jesus said, “Because of your faith, it will happen” (Matthew 9:29 NLT).

This has been a great reminder for me. I remember thanking God in advance all along for the new job I just started this week. God has come through and given me an opportunity to use my skills to help another organization and to train/mentor new team members.