Mark 11: 23 King James Version reads, “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.”
There comes a time in every believer’s prayer life when we must move from “prayer to praise.” This will only happen when we understand that prayer is a two-sided coin. It is not the will of God or in the Word of God that we continually pray the same prayer repeatedly. Matthew 6:7 states “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Some may say, what about the woman that continued to beseech the judge—please remember he was an unjust judge. Our God and judge is a just God and hears us the first time we pray.
The two-sided coin of prayer and praise is like someone going into a supermarket and saying, “I believe there is enough food in this store to feed me and my family for twenty years.” However if they only believe, they will sit there and starve to death. Believing is prayer—faith is praise.
You may believe (prayer) that there is enough food for you, but it is only when you move into faith (praise) that you can open a can of peaches or eat some fruit. It is faith-praise that is the fruit of believing-prayer. So many people pray the problem over and over and never get they’re prayers answered. Mark 11:23 does not tell us to pray the problem; it tells us to pray the solution—mountain be moved. This text goes on to tell us to not doubt in our heart, which amounts to faith and praise. The next step is to believe that the prayer we said is a done deal when it lines up with God’s will. We should pray the prayer, thank God for hearing it and then praise God with our lips (whatsoever we say) for answering it. Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
Mark 11:24 (AMP) “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].” This text plainly tells us that when we pray we must believe and receive what is granted to us by faith (praise.) Why is it that we can ask someone to do us a favor and before it’s even done; we thank them for doing it? We may ask them to get us a drink of water and thank them for doing it before they even leave the room. Yet, when we pray to our Father, we don’t thank him until we see it done. Moving from prayer to praise is when we understand that in God’s kingdom it is not that seeing is believing; it is believing is seeing. Pray and believe it, praise and receive it.
Pastor Hal Steenson
Hal Steenson 