Mark 11:24 AV
Therefore I say unto you,
What¹ things soever ye desire²,
when ye pray,
believe³ that ye receive⁴ [them],
and ye shall have [them].
¹) As many as, whatsoever, as long, how great things, as great as, as far as, how much, how many.
²) To ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.
³) To think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.
⁴) To receive what is offered; not to refuse or reject.
Other translations
For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]. [AMP]
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [ESV]
That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. [MSB]
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. [KJV]
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [NIV]
Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. [NLT]
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. [NKJV]
Study
This verse does not generalize the assurance of Mark 11:23, but emphasizes this verse, which shows that it was designed for the special encouragement of evangelistic and missionary efforts.
Therefore
Whenever there is a therefore, there is a wherefore in the previous verse or verses of which we should take notice. We cannot read a verse starting with “therefore” as if it was standing on itself and has nothing to do with the previous.
This ‘wherefore’ we have seen yesterday.
Therefore I say unto you
This is also an encouragement for us to pray.
We should pray, and not attempt anything without prayer.
Especially not when the things or tasks seem to be above our own power or ability.
What things soever ye desire
Some evangelical churches who follow the “prosperity gospel” explain this in a way that you will receive “whatever you ask for”, and thus fit it nicely into their doctrine of claiming and demanding material (worldly) blessings from God.
It should however be clear to each of us that “whatever we ask for”
▪︎ should be according to the revealed will of God,
▪︎ should be for the continuation and growth of His Kingdom
▪︎ should be for the confirmation of his Gospel,
▪︎ and should be for the glory of His name.
Believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them
The petitions that are desired, and the things asked for in this way;
▪︎ that is according to His will, and to His glory,
▪︎ that is also being as much assured of having them, as if you had already received them,
will be answered, and you shall have them.
The sense is not that they should believe they already received them before they actually did, and had them. This would be a contradiction in terms.
▪︎ Beza’s ancient copy, and one of Stephens’s copies read it, “believe that ye shall receive”, as in ( Matthew 21:22 ),
▪︎ and so the Vulgate Latin version; with which agree the Arabic and Ethiopic versions, which render it, “believe that ye shall enjoy”, or “obtain”;
▪︎ and the Syriac version, “believe that ye are about to receive”;
It is great faith so to believe; and this is the prayer of faith; (see 1 John 5:14,15 ).
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Every prayer (“whatever you pray and ask”) must be accompanied by faith that God will answer it (“that you receive it”) for it to be answered.
Jesus here emphasizes only one aspect of the prayer life, namely faith.
Other aspects (such as, for example, “praying according to with the will of God” and “the necessity of love”, 1 Corinthians 13: 2) are presumed, but not explicitly mentioned.
Since the one who prays makes himself completely dependent on God in his prayer, it is inconceivable that he will ask for things that go against God and His commandments, or that those things are focused only on himself, on a luxurious life, and things like that.
That is why Jesus can also assert with certainty that when one prays for something and believes, that one will receive it (because the one who prays is convinced that it is God’s will that he should receive it), that his prayer will be answered.
Twitter: @SchoemakerHarry
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