How is it possible to believe we have received what we ask for in prayer when everything around you disagrees with you? How is it possible to pray for healing, believe you are healed, when your body says otherwise? How is it possible to pray for provision, believe you have the money you need to feed yourself, pay your bills, and care for your family when your bank account says you are delusional?
Our first response would be it is not possible; we can only believe it when we see it. At the same time, in Mark 11:24, Yehoshua (Yeshua/Jesus) gives us a powerful promise. He says, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours.
Israeli society, at the time of Yehoshua, was split between two opposite factions, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Hellenistic ideology and philosophy strongly influenced the Sadducees; the Pharisees strongly rejected Hellenistic doctrine and philosophy in favor of the Torah.
In Hellenistic ideology and philosophy, faith was not necessarily something influencing our lives and how we behaved. For the Pharisees, faith had to change how they lived their lives and how they behaved. If they believed in something, their lives had to reflect what they believed or else their faith was dead.
Mainstream Christian doctrine tends to pit Yehoshua against the Pharisees and make them out to be His enemy number 1. If we decide to lay Christian doctrine aside, and only let the Bible speak for itself, we will soon see Yehoshua told His disciples to obey the Pharisees when they taught from the written law of Moses. (Matt 23:2). When we further investigate the sayings and teachings of Yehoshua, we see He fulfilled the criteria for being a Pharisee Himself.
This is important for us to keep in mind if we want to understand what He says and teaches in the Bible. And this is also what will help us to understand Mark 11:24.
To Yehoshua, faith had to be seen to be counted as real genuine faith. This is why James says in James 2:10-26, Paul says in 1.Cor 11:1 and John in 1. John 2:6 says faith without works is dead. If it is not visible in our lives for all to see that we have been saved, by the moral choices we make, our faith in the cross can not and will not save us. This is why Yehoshua emphasizes the need for repentance from lawbreaking to obeying the law of Moses.
So what Yehoshua is telling us in Mark 11:24 is this, when we ask Yehovah for something, we have to believe He has already given it to us, and then we will have what we ask of Him. This is faith in action; this is us showing we believe Yehovah can and will heal us, provide for us, and meet our needs. This is the kind of faith that will save us, and help us on this side of the grave.
Perhaps you have no problem believing, but still, you do not see your prayers answered?
We live in a Hellenized culture, so for us, this can be very difficult to understand. How do we believe we are healed when our bodies tell us we are still sick? How do we think we’re able to pay our bills when our bank account says we dont have any money?
Let me ask you a question, how did you believe as a child, your parents would care for you?
When you were hungry and in need of new clothes, you had no control over when, how, and what you were going to eat or wear. Even so, you trusted your parents to take care of you. Why did you trust them? Because of who you are, you are their child, and because you are their child, you knew they would care for you, and you would not have to worry. How did you know? Because you learned from an early age, parents care for their children, so you had observable evidence telling you this is something you can expect from your father and mother.
The Bible says, in John 3, 1. John 2:6, 3:4, 3:7, 5:3, James 2:10-26, Rom 2 if you repent and believe Yehoshua died for your sins, you will become Israel and a child of Yehovah. In your identity as Israel and a Jew (regardless of your DNA, Isaiah 56:3) lies your assurance Yehovah will meet your needs (Matt 6:25-34)
So the Bible is not telling you to deny reality and pretend as if you are well when you are sick. The Bible says when you are sick when you need money, pray and ask Yehovah, your Father, for what you need. Pray knowing you are Israel, His beloved son or daughter, and because you are Israel, He has promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to care for you. You only have to open your Bible and read observable evidence showing you Yehovah has always fought for Israel and helped Israel in the past. So there is no need for you to doubt Him now, as long as you know you are Israel.
Because of this, you can already thank Him for healing you, providing for you fighting for you, and by doing so, you are showing Him your faith. Then it will be easy for you to live and experience Mark 11:24.