Prayer Tip #6-Check Your Motives

So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24 NRSV

In my opinion this has to be one verse of scripture that is often misinterpreted.  This verse of scripture is about having faith.  One of the mistakes that we make as believers is reading verses of scripture in isolation.  I was always taught that you should read the verse before and the verse after to understand the context of the what you're reading, but for many of us that does not happen.  We sometimes pick and choose the things that we like most in the Bible or parts of the scripture that make us feel good.  

This verse is not about asking for things that you know God would not agree with.  If you know that you are not good with money, then you should not be asking God to bless you with millions.  Instead you should be asking God to help you find the proper financial guidance to maintain what you currently have.  If you have trust issues then you should not be asking God to send you a husband.  Instead you should be praying that God would heal your heart of past wounds so that you are a whole and complete person; not a partially fulfilled person looking to man for healing.  

We should always check our motives before going into prayer.  If you are going into prayer just to simply ask for things that you probably don't need or that you wouldn't be able to handle then you might want to rethink your prayer.  As stated before, prayer is an intimate relationship that involves two-way communication.  You wouldn't want to date someone that only asked for things and never was willing to do anything for you would you??? Well that's how our Father feels.

2 Chronicles 7:14 gives a better understanding of what our approach should be.  It states, "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and their land." 

Key points when reading scriptures:

1. Pay attention to punctuation.

2. Pay attention to word order

3. Pay attention to context


Peace and Blessings,