Faith Bible Study Guide
However, I notice all the time in my ministry, as I preach on the subject of faith, folks just keep catching on! When Jesus said, “. .. what things so ever ye desire . . . ,” He meant just exactly what it said (Mark 11:24). And when Jesus said, “. . . when ye pray He
meant the very moment you pray. You are to believe you receive whatsoever things you desire the moment you pray. Jesus said, “. . . BELIEVE that ye RECEIVE them, and ye shall HAVE them.” In common, every-day language, Jesus said, “You’ve got to believe you’ve got your answer before you get it!”
When the light of this scripture first dawned on me, I immediately said, “Why, Lord, I see what I’ve got to do. I must believe while I’m still lying here flat on my back that my paralysis is healed, not going to be healed, but healed now.” You see, many people say, “I believe God’s going to heal me.” That’s not New Testament believing. I ought to know! I stayed bedfast for an entire year believing that, and I never got anything. I continued talking to the Lord, “I’ve got to believe that my heart is well while my heart is still not beating right.”
Now notice what it said, “… believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Most folks want to have their petition first, and then believe they’ve got it. But you’ve got to believe it first; then you’ll have it. Someone said, “I don’t understand that.” I told you that you can’t understand the Bible with your head. The things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to the natural mind, and the Bible is of the Spirit of God. The Scriptures are spiritually discerned. You have to grasp or understand the truth of the Word with your spirit.
As I said, the moment I saw the truth of Mark 11:24, I began to act upon the Word. There is always some way you can act on the Word. The only way I could act on it at the moment was to raise my hands and praise God for His Word, and thank Him for my healing. I said, “Thank God, I believe. I believe that my paralysis is healed. I believe my body is well.” And, of course, the moment I said that, the devil challenged me. You see, I am showing you what it means to believe with your heart. To believe with your heart means to believe with your spirit. It means to act in faith on God’s Word regardless of what you feel or see. After I began to act on Mark 11:24, immediately the devil challenged me.
He said, “You’re a pretty looking thing, claiming to be a Christian, and now you’ve gone to lying.” You see, in our natural minds we don’t under-stand the things of the Spirit of God. For instance, in order to act on Mark 11:24 and get results, we say in effect, “I believe I receive.” And Jesus said, “If you believe you receive what things so ever you desire, then you shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Believe first that you receive your petitions and you shall have them.
MARK 11:24 (Amplified)
24 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].
When are you going to get what you desire? After you trust and are confident that it is already granted to you. Do you see that? Too many people want to get what they desire first, and then they’re going to believe they’ve got it. But Jesus said that you’ve got to
believe you’ve received what you desire from God, and then you’ll have it. That is the simplest way to put it – that is faith.