Transcription
Well, praise God forevermore. Open your Bibles this morning. Turn with me to the Gospel according to Mark, the 11th chapter. We're going to camp right here for a while. Now, don't get in a hurry. Faith doesn't come by having heard. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Mark 11, starting with verse 22. And Jesus answering saith unto them, "Have faith in God." Hallelujah.
Verse 23. "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, 'Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,' and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass. He shall have whatsoever he saith."
Now, here's where we're going today. Verse 24. Listen to it carefully. Don't skim over it. "Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them."
Now, stop right there. I want you to notice something. Jesus didn't say, "When you see it, then believe you've got it." No, no, no. He said, "When you pray, believe that you receive, and then you shall have." The believing comes first. The having comes second. That's where most Christians miss it. They've got it backward.
I like to put it this way. If you're waiting to feel healed before you believe you're healed, you never will feel healed. If you're waiting to see the money before you believe God supplied it, you'll be waiting from now till the cows come home. Amen.
The Bible says in Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" See, the issue isn't whether God will do it. The issue is, will you believe you receive it when you pray?
And I can hear somebody say, "Well, Brother Hagen, I've been praying for years about that." Well, did you believe you received when you prayed? That's the question. Jesus didn't say, "Pray and pray and pray and pray until finally something happened." No. He gave us the divine order right here. Believe that you receive and you shall have.
Now, underline that in your Bible. Put a little star next to it. Write in the margin. The moment I believe is the moment I receive, not when I see it. Not when the pain is gone. Not when the bank balance changes. No. The moment I believe is the moment I receive.
Over in Hebrews 11:1, it says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Did you catch that? Now faith is not tomorrow, not next week. Now, faith is present tense. Hope is future tense. Faith takes it now.
And somebody says, "Well, Brother Hagen, I'm just hoping and praying." That's the problem. If you're hoping, you're not in faith. Faith says it's mine now. Hope says someday. And someday never comes until you make it today. Amen.
So, here's what Jesus is telling us. The reason a lot of prayers don't work is because people try to have before they believe. But in the kingdom of God, you got to believe before you have. That's God's divine order.
Say this with me out loud. "I believe I receive when I pray." Say it again. "I believe I receive when I pray." One more time so it gets down into your spirit. "I believe I receive when I pray."
Now, we're going to look at what it means to have faith in God because that's where Jesus started. Verse 22, "Have faith in God." The margin of my Bible says, "Have the God kind of faith." What's the God kind of faith? It's a faith that believes and speaks before it sees. God looked out into the darkness and didn't say, "Boy, it sure is dark out here." No, he said, "Light be." And light was. Amen. That's the God kind of faith. And that's the faith Jesus said you can have.
Now, that's our foundation today. This is the verse that'll fix your prayer life faster than anything else. Mark 11:24, "Believe that you receive when you pray, and you shall have." Everything we're going to talk about is built right here.
Let's dig into what faith really is at prayer time because faith and feelings are not the same thing. And that's where so many folks get tripped up.
Now, we saw in Mark 11:24 that Jesus told us exactly when to believe. When you pray, not when you feel something. Not when the situation changes. When you pray. See, a lot of people confuse faith with feelings. But faith is not a feeling any more than the wind is a tree. Feelings will change. Faith does not. Feelings are like the weather, but faith is like the rock of ages. Amen.
Now, over in 2 Corinthians 5:7, it says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." You could just as well say, "We walk by faith, not by feelings." That means if you've been waiting for a goosebump or a tingle to know God heard your prayer, you're walking by sight, not by faith.
I remember years ago a dear woman came to me after healing line and said, "Brother Hagen, I don't think I got anything when you prayed for me." I said, "Why not?" She said, "Well, I didn't feel anything." I said, "Did the Bible say when you feel something, you shall have it?" She kind of laughed, said, "No." I said, "What did it say?" She said, "When you pray, believe you receive." I said, "Then which one are you going to believe, your feelings or the word of God?"
See, faith takes sides with the word of God. Regardless what the body says, regardless of what the bank account says, regardless of what your emotions are screaming at you, faith says, "If God said it, that settles it. I have it now."
Psalm 119:89 says, "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." That means it doesn't get unsettled just because you didn't feel good when you woke up this morning. Amen.
You know, there are times I've gone to the Lord in prayer and didn't feel a thing, dry as last year's corn shucks. But the moment I prayed according to his word, I believed I received. And you know what? The feelings eventually caught up with my faith. But I didn't wait for them to show up before I believed.
Let me tell you something. If you live by your feelings, the devil will make sure you feel bad just when you're about to receive your answer. But if you live by faith, the devil can't touch your believing because it's anchored in the unchanging word.
Everybody say this with me. "Faith is not a feeling. Faith is acting on God's word." Again, "Faith is not a feeling. Faith is acting on God's word." And one more time for the folks who didn't get it the first two times, "Faith is not a feeling. Faith is acting on God's word."
Now, that brings us to this important point. There's a big difference between saying, "I will have it," and saying, "I already received it." And that's where we're going next.
Now, this here, this is where a lot of good church folks miss it. They're sincere. They love the Lord. They even know some scripture, but they've got their faith tense wrong. Mark 11:24 doesn't say, "When you pray, believe that you will receive someday and you might have it." No. Jesus said, "When you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them." Present tense believing, future tense having.
Here's the problem. Most people have it reversed. They say, "Well, I know the Lord's going to heal me one of these days," or, "I know the Lord's going to supply my need someday." Friend, that's not Bible faith. That's hope. And hope's good. It's the blueprint. But hope never built the house. Faith builds a house. Hope is looking forward. Faith takes it now.
Romans 4:17 says that God "calleth those things which be not as though they were," not as though they will be, nor as though they were already done. That's the God kind of faith.
I remember a fellow came to me in a healing line years ago. I asked, "What are you believing for?" He said, "Well, I'm believing the Lord's going to heal me." I said, "When?" He said, "Oh, I don't know. Just in his good time." I said, "Brother, he's been ready for 2,000 years." Jesus took your infirmities and bear your sicknesses at the cross. His good time was Calvary.
You see, when Jesus died and rose again, your answer was purchased. It's already in the bank account of heaven. Faith writes the check and cases it now. But if you keep saying, "I will have it," you've always pushed it out into tomorrow, and tomorrow never comes.
Hebrews 11:1 again. "Now faith is," not next week, not when you feel better, not when the doctor changes his report. "Now faith is." If it's not now, it's not faith. It's just hope.
Say this out loud with me. "I believe I receive now." Again, "I believe I receive now." Once more, "I believe I receive now." Get that down inside you until the devil can't talk you out of it.
And that brings me to the next point, double-mindedness. Because you can say, "I receive," one minute and then cancel it with your words the next. And that's why James had something to say about it.
Now, turn with me over to the book of James, the first chapter. We're going to start reading in verse six. James says, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waverth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." Verse seven, listen close. "For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." And verse eight, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."
Now, that's strong, isn't it? James says, if you waver, if you keep flipping back and forth between, "I have it," and, "I don't have it," don't expect to receive anything from the Lord. That's not me talking. That's the Bible talking.
Wavering is like putting one foot in the boat, one foot on the dock. Sooner or later, you're going to fall in. I like to illustrate it this way. How many of you have ever been to a restaurant, ordered your food, and then when the waiter is halfway back to the kitchen, you yell, "No, wait. Cancel my order. I'm not sure I want that." Then two minutes later, "No, go ahead, bring it." Then a few minutes later, "Cancel it again." Now, how long do you think it'll take for your meal to get to you? It won't because you keep canceling the order.
That's exactly what believers do when they pray and then start talking against their prayer. They pray in faith at the altar, "Lord, I believe I receive my healing." And before they get to the parking lot, they're telling somebody, "Well, I hope the Lord heals me." You just canceled your order.
Jesus said, "What things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them." That's a settled fact. You lock it in right there. You don't touch it with doubt. You don't pull it up by the roots every day to see if it's growing.
Romans 4 says, "Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." He didn't stagger back and forth like a drunk man. He stayed steady. He called himself the father of many nation before Isaac was even born because God had said it.
Now, if you want your prayer life to work, you got to get rid of that double-mindedness. You got to get to the place where you say, "That's it. I have believed. I have received. It's mine now." And you hold that position until you see it.
Everybody say, "I will not waver. I will not stagger. I believe I receive." Now, one more time. "I will not waver. I will not stagger. I believe I receive."
Now, part of that steadiness comes from having a solid foundation under your faith. And that's where the word of God comes in. Which leads us to the first common mistake people make when they pray.
Now, if you want to keep from wavering, you've got to have something solid to stand on. And the most solid thing in the universe is the word of God. Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Faith doesn't come by opinions. Faith doesn't come by feelings. Faith doesn't come because you heard Aunt Suz's story of what happened to her. Faith comes one way and one way only: by hearing the word of God.
And, uh, that's why one of the number one mistakes people make when they pray is this: They pray without a scripture. They go to God and say, "Lord, give me this." But they can't show him chapter and verse where he promised it. Now, if you don't have the word on it, what are you basing your faith on?
I tell folks all the time, God is only obligated to do what he said he would do. Psalm 138:2 says he has magnified his word above all his name. That means his integrity is tied to his word. If he said it, he'll do it. If he didn't say it, you don't have a basis for faith.
Now, somebody says, "Well, I'm just asking the Lord to do whatever he wants." That sounds humble, but it's not faith. It's ignorance. God already told you in his word what he wants. Find out what he said and believe that.
I remember back when I was bedfast, 16 months on that bed, paralyzed. Doctor said there was no hope. I didn't get healed by wishing. I didn't get healed by saying, "Well, Lord, if you want me to live, heal me." No. I found Mark 11:24 and I found Matthew 8:17, "Himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses." I had something to stand on. That was my title deed.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." That word substance means the title deed. You don't own a house just because you drove by it. You own it because you have the title. And your scripture is the title deed for what you're asking God for.
So, here's what you do before you ever pray. Find at least one verse that covers your case. Better yet, find two or three. Write them down. Meditate on them until they get bigger inside you than the problem. Then when you pray, you're not guessing. You're presenting your case based on the word.
Say this with me. "I never pray without a scripture." Again, "I never pray without a scripture." One more time so it gets in you. "I never pray without a scripture."
Now, once you've got your scripture and you pray according to it, here's the next big mistake people make. They keep asking for the same thing over and over as though God didn't hear them the first time.
Now, listen. This one right here has robbed more believers of answers than you might think. They pray and then they go back the next day and pray the exact same prayer again and then the next day and the next and the next. And every time they do, they're undoing what they did the first time.
Mark 11:24 doesn't say, "What things soever you desire, keep on praying for them every day until you finally wear God down." No, it says, "When you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them." That's a one-time transaction. The moment you pray in faith, it's settled.
Think about it like this. A child comes to his father and says, "Dad, may I have a bicycle?" The father says, "Yes, son. It's yours. I'll get it for you." Now, what would you think if that boy came back every single day saying, "Dad, can I have a bicycle? Dad, can I have a bicycle?" The father might finally say, "Son, I told you I would. Do you believe me or not?"
When you pray, your father in heaven either heard you and answered or he didn't. And if he didn't, it's because you didn't ask according to his word. But if you did, then from that moment on, you don't ask again. You thank him.
Philippians 4:6 says, "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Notice once you've made your request, the next step is thanksgiving.
I've had people come to me and say, "Brother Hagen, I've been praying for God to heal me for 10 years." And I say, "Well, there's your problem. You've been trying to get him to do what he already did, too." "0000 years ago." Healing is not something you beg for. It's something you receive.
When you pray the prayer of faith, you've got to make the switch from asking to praising. You're not trying to get it anymore. You've got it. And if you've got it, you thank God for it. That's how faith talks.
Say this with me. "I believe I receive when I pray and from that moment on I thank God for it." Again, "I believe I receive when I pray and from that moment on I thank God for it."
Now, you can pray again about the same subject, but it won't be a prayer of asking. It'll be a prayer of thanksgiving. You'll say, "Father, I thank you that according to your word, I received my healing last Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when I prayed. Thank you that it's mine." That's how you hold on to the answer by thanking him for it, not by asking for it over and over. Because the moment you ask again as if you didn't get it, you've just confessed you didn't believe you received it the first time.
But here's another trap. Sometimes people pray, right? They ask once in faith, but then they walk out of the prayer closet and start talking the exact opposite. That's the next common mistake.
Now, this one here, if you don't deal with it, it'll cancel your prayer faster than anything. You can pray the most beautiful scripture-filled prayer full of faith and it'll walk right out the door and kill it dead with your mouth.
Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." You see, your words after you pray are just as important as the words you spoke when you prayed.
I've seen it happen hundreds of times. Folks come up in a healing line, we lay hands on them, they believe they receive. You can see the joy on their faces. But then in the parking lot, somebody says, "Well, how you feeling now?" And they answer, "Oh, I guess I'm still sick as a dog." Friend, that's like planting seed in the ground and then digging it up every day to see if it's growing. It'll never produce that way.
Once you prayed the prayer of faith, your mouth must agree with your prayer. You can't talk one way in prayer and another way in conversation. James 3 says, "The tongue is like a rudder on a ship. It steers the whole course." If you want your prayer to arrive at the destination, you've got to keep the rudder pointed toward the answer, not back toward the problem.
I remember one lady, sweet Christian, faithful in church. She came to me for prayer about a financial need. We prayed according to Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus." She agreed in prayer. I believe she received. The next Sunday, she came up and said, "Brother Heagen, I'm just not sure the Lord is going to come through." I said, "Well, sister, you've already talked yourself out of it." She looked at me surprised. I said, "If you believe he's supplying it, you'll talk like it's already yours even before you see it."
Mark 11:23 says, "He shall have whatsoever he saith." Not whatsoever he prayed, but whatsoever he saith. In other words, what you say consistently will dominate, whether it's life or death, faith or doubt. So after you pray, your job is to guard your mouth like a watchman. If someone asks how you doing, you don't lie, but you answer with faith. You say, "Praise God according to the word. I believe I received my healing on Tuesday night. I'm the healed of the Lord."
Say this with me. "My words agree with my prayer." Again, "My words agree with my prayer." One more time. "My words agree with my prayer."
Now, when you learn to pray once in faith, base it on the word and keep your mouth lined up with what you prayed, you're walking in the pattern Jesus himself gave us. And that pattern is simple: believe first, see second. And that's exactly how Jesus operated.
Now, we've seen what cancels prayer is no scripture foundation, asking over and over, talking against your own prayer. But I want to show you how Jesus himself demonstrated the pattern of faith.
Go with me to Luke 17:14. You remember the 10 lepers. They stood afar off and cried, "Jesus, master, have mercy on us." And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves unto the priests." And the Bible says, "And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed." Did you catch that? They weren't healed when they stood there. They weren't healed when they first heard him speak. They were healed as they went, acting like they had it before they could see it. That's the pattern. Believe first, see second.
Or think about the man with the withered hand in Mark 3. Jesus didn't say, "Let me fix your hand, then stretch it out." No, he said, "Stretch forth thine hand." And the man stretched it out and it was restored whole as the other. He acted on the word before he saw the change. Faith always works in that order. First the believing and the acting, then the seeing. That's why Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the evidence of things not seen." If you can already see it, you don't need faith for it.
You see the same pattern in John 4 with the nobleman who came to Jesus about his sick son. Jesus said, "Go thy way. Thy son liveth." And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And when he got home, he found his son was healed at the very hour Jesus had said it. That's how the God kind of faith works. It's not based on the condition you see right now. It's based on the promise you heard from God's word.
Now, here's the thing. If Jesus, who is the express image of the father, operated this way every single time, then we're not going to find a better method. If you want your prayers to work, stop waiting to see before you believe. Start believing when you pray, and you'll see it in due season.
Say it with me. "I believe before I see." Again, "I believe before I see." One more time. "I believe before I see."
That's why when I was bedfast as a young man, paralyzed, the doctors gave up on me, and the whole room smelled like death. I didn't wait for my body to change before I believed I was healed. I believed I received when I prayed. And then my body caught up with what my spirit already knew.
Now, I want to share that story with you because it'll help you see how this works in real life, even when everything in the natural says there's no hope.
Now, I some of you have heard part of my testimony before, but I never get tired of telling it because I lived it and it works. When I was just a boy, my body was so frail the doctor said I'd never live to be a man. They said I was born with a deformed heart, a blood disease, and I became completely paralyzed. By the time I was 16, I'd been bedfast for 16 long months. Couldn't get up, couldn't turn myself over, couldn't feed myself. My mother had to bathe me. I had five doctors, good men, did all they knew, but they all said, "Son, you can't live. You'll die before you're 17." You know what that'll do to you? You'll either give up or you'll start looking for something bigger than the doctor's word.
Well, I had a Baptist grandmother and a praying mama who'd put a Bible in my hands and lying there, I'd read it as best I could. One day, I came to Mark 11:24, "What things soever you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them." I'd read that verse before, but this time it's like it lit up on the page. The spirit of God whispered in my heart, "You've been believing to have it after you get it. But my word says, 'Believe you receive it when you pray.'" And I said, "Lord, I see it. I believe I received my healing right now."
Now, my body didn't change one bit. I still couldn't move, still paralyzed, but I knew in my heart it was done. I said out loud, "I'm healed." The devil said to my mind, "You're a fool. You're lying. You're not healed." I said, "No, I'm not lying. I'm agreeing with God's word. He says I'm healed, so I am."
For several days, nothing changed on the outside. But I kept believing. I received. I kept thanking him. I didn't ask again. Every time my mind tried to think about the sickness, I just said, "Thank you, Father. I believe I received my healing on the morning of." And I'd name the date.
Then one morning about 10:00, I was reading Mark 11:24 again. And I read it out loud. "What things soever you desire?" I said, "Lord, I desire to walk. I desire to preach the gospel. When I pray, believe I receive it and I shall have it." And the spirit of God spoke on the inside. "Well, people ought to be up at 10:00 in the morning." I knew what he meant. Healed people aren't lying in bed at that time of day. I pushed myself, swung my legs over the side of the bed, first time in 16 months. My legs felt like rubber, but I held on to the bed post, said, "Thank God I'm healed." Strength came as I acted on the word. I walked to the bedroom door, then to the kitchen. My mama saw me and nearly fainted, and I've been walking ever since, preaching this gospel all over the world.
Now, friend, here's the point. Nothing in my body said I was healed when I first believed. Everything in the natural said I'd die. But Mark 11:24 didn't change just because my symptoms were still there. The day I believed I received was the day I got it. The manifestation just took a little while to catch up.
Say this with me. "The day I believe is the day I receive." Again, "The day I believe is the day I receive." And that's why I can tell you with all confidence this will work for you just like it worked for me. And to make it work, you got to know how to apply Mark 11:24 in practice step by step.
Now, I've told you the story. I've shown you the scripture. But I don't want you to leave here saying, "Well, that was a nice testimony." No, I want you to leave here knowing exactly how to make Mark 11:24 work in your life starting today. There's a process to this, and it's not complicated. Jesus didn't make it complicated. If a one six-year-old bedfast boy could figure it out lying flat on his back with nothing but a Bible, you can do it. Amen.
Let's walk through it.
Step one, find your scripture. Don't just run to God with a wish list. Go to him with his word. Isaiah 43:26 says, "Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. Declare thou that thou mayest be justified." Find the verse that covers your case. Healing? Go to 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 8:17, or Psalm 103:3. Provision? Go to Philippians 4:19, or 2 Corinthians 9:8. Peace? Go to Isaiah 26:3 or Philippians 4:7. That scripture is your title deed. It's the legal proof heaven recognizes.
Step two, ask according to the word. Once you've got your scripture, go before the father and pray based on it. "Father, you said in your word," and then quote it. You're not begging, you're presenting your case. 1 John 5:14-15 says, "If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hears, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
Step three, believe you receive. When you pray, this is the pivot point. At the moment you say amen, you believe in your heart, it's yours. The transaction is complete in the spirit realm, even if there's no evidence in the natural yet. Faith takes it now. I believe I receive, not tomorrow. Now.
Step four, switch from asking to thanksgiving. From that moment on, you don't ask for it again. You thank him for it. Colossians 2:7 says, "We are to be abounding therein with thanksgiving." When the thought comes, "Maybe you didn't get it." Answer it out loud. "Father, I thank you. I receive when I prayed." Thanksgiving is how you water the seed of faith.
Step five, refuse to speak against your prayer. Guard your mouth. Proverbs 4:24 says, "Put away from thee a forward mouth and perverse lips put far from thee." If someone asks how you are, don't rehearse the problem. Confess the promise. If you can't say anything in faith, keep your lips closed until you can.
Step six, act like the word is true. James 2:26 says, "Faith without works is dead." If you believed you received, how would you act? Start acting that way. When I was bedfast, I pushed my legs out of bed because I believed. That action was my faith in motion.
Step seven, hold steady until the manifestation comes. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. For he is faithful that promise." Whether it's 10 minutes, 10 days, or 10 months, don't change your confession. The only time you stop believing is when you got it in your hand.
Now, friend, this is not theory. This is Bible. And it's the same process Jesus himself used when he cursed the fig tree in Mark 11. He spoke to it, believed it was done, walked away, and the manifestation showed up the next day.
Say this with me. "I find my scripture. I pray according to the word. I believe I receive when I pray. I thank God till it shows up. I refuse to speak against my prayer. I act like the word is true. I hold steady until it manifests." If you do that, you will see results because you're following Jesus' own instructions in Mark 11:24.
And now I want us to put this into practice together right here, right now. We're going to pray, receive, and rejoice in faith.
Now, we're not just going to talk about this. We're going to do it. Faith without action is dead. You've heard the word. So, now we're going to act on the word. First, I want you to think right now, what is it you're believing God for? It could be healing in your body. It could be a financial breakthrough. It could be restoration in your family. It could be peace in your mind. Get it in your heart. Don't make it 10 things. Pick one thing so you can focus your faith.
Now, do you have your scripture for it? Remember step one, you don't pray without a verse. If you don't have it, I'll give you a few right now. Healing? 1 Peter 2:24, "by his stripes you were healed." Provision? Philippians 4:19, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Peace? Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee."
All right. Now, hold that scripture in your heart. We're going to pray the prayer of faith. When we say amen, that's the moment you believe you receive, forever settled. You never ask for it again after this. Only thank him.
Let's pray. "Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you on the authority of your word. You said in Mark 11:24, 'What things soever ye desire when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.' Father, this is the thing we desire, and we base our faith on your promise in [insert scripture]. Right now, we believe, we receive it. It's ours. We have it now in Jesus' name. Amen."
Now, what does the Bible say you do after you believe? You receive. You give thanks. Not when it shows up, now. So, I want you right now to lift your voice and thank him for it. Thank him like you would if you already had it in your hands. That's it. "Thank you, Lord. Praise you, Father. I believe I have it. Glory to God. I've got it now. Hallelujah."
Somebody says, "But Brother Hagen, I don't feel any different." That's all right. We're not walking by feelings. Somebody else says, "Nothing has changed yet." That's all right. We're not moved by what we see. We're moved by the word of God.
See, you're doing exactly what Abraham did. Romans 4 says he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He was praising God for a son before Isaac was ever born. And that's what you're doing right now. Your thanksgiving is the proof you believe.
Now, I want you to say this with me. "I believe I receive when I pray. I have it now. I thank you, Father. It's mine." Say it again. "I believe I receive when I pray. I have it now. I thank you, Father. It's mine." Glory to God. That's how you lock it in and refuse to let the devil talk you out of it.
And that brings us to the last part, holding steady until the answer is fully manifested. We'll close with a confession that'll keep you in position until you see the full result.
Now, listen. Faith begins where the will of God is known. You've heard the word today, so you know it's his will for you to receive the answer to your prayer. And you know from Mark 11:24 exactly how to take it. But the devil's not going to sit back and say, "Well, I guess I'll leave him alone." No, he'll try to steal it with doubt, with symptoms, with bad news, with delay. That's why Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised." Your confession locks the door and throws away the key. Every time a doubt comes, you answer it out loud with your confession of faith. Jesus answered the devil with, "It is written." You answer with, "I believe, I receive."
Here's the confession I want you to carry out of here today. We're going to say it three times so it gets down into your spirit. "According to Mark 11:24, when I pray, I believe, I receive. I have it now. It's mine. I will not be moved by what I see. I will not be moved by what I feel. I'm only moved by what I believe. And I believe God's word, it is done." Say it again. Say it like you mean it.
Glory to God. That's how you keep the switch of faith turned on until the full manifestation comes.
Now, before we close, let me remind you, faith is not a gamble. Faith is a certainty when it's based on God's word. Mark 11:24 works the same for healing, for finances, for family restoration, for peace of mind, because it's not based on your worthiness. It's based on the integrity of God's word. So go out this week with your head held high and your mouth full of praise. And when someone asks how it's going, you smile and say, "I believe I receive. It's mine now."
And one more thing, don't just keep this to yourself. Teach somebody else how to pray in faith. Share Mark 11:24 with them. Tell them this is how you stop canceling your own prayer.
Now, lift your hands one last time and let's thank him. "Father, we thank you for answers, for victory, for manifestation. We thank you for teaching us today how to take what belongs to us in Christ. And we give you all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen."