Praying Positively

Praying Positively

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:24

WE PRAY WITH CERTAIN ATTITUDES, bringing a mixture of beliefs, assumptions, and emotions into our prayers that color them darkly or brightly. A certain spirit in our words reflects our mood, which in turn flavors our faith—or lack of it. If we look closely enough, we can probably identify it. If we look in a mirror, we may even be able to see it on our face.

This energy behind our prayers has a lot to do with faith and expectation—and therefore with answers. There may be times when you pray in an attitude of fear, despair, bitterness, or judgment, hoping God will answer but braced for the disappointment you expect to come. You want to believe, but you also want to guard your heart. That’s natural. But Jesus clearly urged his disciples not to hold back, not to put boundaries around their hearts that protect them from disappointments. He told them to go ahead and believe.

The tenses in this one sentence from Jesus are fascinating. Whatever you are praying for (present tense), go ahead and believe you have received it (past tense), and it will be yours (future tense). In other words, when you pray, place your mind and heart in the future—after the answer has come—enjoying the goodness of your God and the victories he brings. In that place, it’s entirely appropriate to thank him for what he has done. Once you’re there, you can come back into the present and know the answer is coming. Yes, you may not know God’s will perfectly; and yes, you might miss some details. Caveats aside, there’s no denying Jesus’ words. He clearly said to believe.

Be observant about the energy and spirit behind your prayers and determine to pray with boldness, expectation, and gratitude for whatever God will do with them. These attitudes stir up faith, a vital ingredient in any powerful life of prayer. Don’t put pressure on yourself; in his mercy, God also answers desperate, fearful prayers. But greater answers come in response to faith. Pray positively, and positive answers will flow much more freely.

We block Christ’s advance in our lives by failure of expectation.