PRE-ANSWERED PRAYER

MARK 11:2

A. "THEREFORE, I SAY UNTO YOU, WHAT THINGS SOEVER YE DESIRE, WHEN YE PRAY BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE THEM, AND YE SHALL HAVE THEM"
  1. An amazing statement by Him, who is the way, the truth and the life:
    1. Of all the illuminating sayings of Jesus on the subject of prayer this is perhaps the most outstanding and impressive
    2. It attaches the answer to our prayer to our simple and child-like faith in a prayer answering God
  2. It is a forceful reassurance by the Lord:
    1. That our heavenly Father is able, willing and ready to grant our petitions
    2. It places the responsibility upon us - whether our petition is heard or not
B. PRE-ANSWERED PRAYER
  1. That was the experience of the Son of God in His prayer life:
    1. Note the tenor of His prayer at the tomb of His friend Lazarus - "Father, I thank Thee that thou hast heard Me, and I know that Thou hearest Me always" - John 11:41-42
    2. His relationship with His Father was so close that He knew before hand that His Father would give Him His petition
  2. The reasonableness of this testimony by Jesus Christ:
    1. God knows our thoughts afar off - Ps. 139:2
    2. He knows that we are dependent upon the things we ask of Him - John 15:5; Matt. 6:32
    3. Also, He grants us our requests, because we ask in accordance to His holy will - I John 4:14
    4. He made this gracious and glorious promise to His children - "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear" - Is. 65:24; Examples: Daniel in prayer - Dan. 9:20-21; 1-:12; the attitude of the prodigal's father - Luke 15:20
    5. The secret of this arrangement between God and man is because, "In Him we live, move, and have our being" - Acts 17:28
C. FAITH IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD IS
  1. The key to pre-answered prayer:
    1. "Believe that ye have received them, and ye shall receive them" - Mark 11:24
    2. "For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" - Heb. 11:6
    3. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Heb. 11:1
  2. This, dear fellow believer, is what we need to develop in the great science of prayer: Example: Said the woman, "If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole" - Matt. 9:20-22; "Speak the word only" said the centurion, and my servant shall be healed" - Matt. 8:5-13
    1. We need to realize God's omniscience - said Peter to Jesus, "Thou knowest all things" - John 21:17
    2. We, too, need to understand, that our heavenly Father is willing and anxious to give us our request if and when it is best for us; Examples: The mother of James and John requested that they would occupy special seats of honor in Christ's coming kingdom - Matt. 20:20-21; Balaam besought the Lord thrice to grant his request, but the Lord did not and could not grant it
  3. There is still another side to the words of our opening text:
    1. Our very lives, temporal and spiritual are pre-answered prayers; that has been my own experience
    2. The goodness and tender mercies of the Lord have followed me from the day I was born, and as I look back over nearly seventy-five years of my pilgrimage, I see only pre-answered prayer.
    3. Said David in that farewell prayer, "We are strangers before thee, and sojourners . . .all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee" - I Chron. 29:11-15
  4. How wonderful is the prayer-life when we view it in the light of our opening text:
    1. Prayer should become the great incentive of close communion with our heavenly Father
    2. It should indeed be the answer to a close walk with God


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