Believing Prayer

Believing Prayer || Mark 11:24 || Sersie Blue

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

How many times have you prayed for something, for someone, or for a situation to turn around, but deep down you were not praying from the place of authority this scripture describes? If I am honest, I know I have done that. I have prayed hoping, wishing, even pleading, but not fully believing.

During this season of Lent, I find myself pushing to deepen my faith and my trust in God’s Word so that I can pray more from a place of genuine belief. To really understand this scripture, we must look at where it sits. It is like the meat in the middle of a sandwich. One slice of bread is faith without doubt. The other slice is forgiveness. Right in the middle sits believing prayer.

Jesus says that if someone speaks to a mountain and does not doubt in their heart, that mountain can be moved. And just a few verses later He reminds us that when we stand praying, we must forgive anyone we hold something against so that our Father in heaven will forgive us. So, what do these two pieces of bread show us about believing prayer?

First, believing prayer requires us to confront doubt. Doubt has a quiet way of slipping into our lives. It shows up through fear, insecurity, and the struggle to fully trust God. Lent invites us to quiet the noise of the world that feeds that panic. It is a season to slow down, turn our attention back to God, and draw close enough to Him that we truly know His character. When you begin to know God deeply, doubt begins to lose its grip.

Second, believing prayer requires a heart that is free from unforgiveness. Jesus connects prayer and forgiveness for a reason. Bitterness and resentment can quietly anchor doubt in our lives. They weigh down our faith and make us feel unworthy of what we are asking God to do. When we release others and forgive, something in us loosens. Our hearts open again to trust. The enemy loves to whisper small attacks into our minds. “You will never move that mountain.” “You don’t deserve for God to answer this prayer.”

But when doubt is confronted and forgiveness is practiced, something shifts. We begin to pray with a different kind of faith. We begin to believe before we see.

There is a mystery here. In a sense, you must see it before you receive it. Faith allows us to trust that God is already at work, even when the evidence has not yet appeared. Lent becomes a training ground for this kind of prayer. It is a time to know God so deeply that our faith stretches beyond our human limitations. It is also a time to allow God to change us, softening our hearts toward others as we forgive.

This kind of prayer is not a genie in a bottle. It is not about bending God to our will. It is about deepening our trust in who He is. The deeper you know God, the more He transforms you. And the more He transforms you, the more your desires begin to align with His will. You start praying the very things God has already purposed for your life. Faith does not create God’s will. It opens the door for us to walk in it.

So, this Lent, as we go deeper in prayer, let us also go deeper in belief. Let us trust God’s character enough to believe that He hears us, that He cares, and that He can move the mountains before us.

Prayer
Dear Father God,
Help us to pray from a place of true belief. When doubt rises in our hearts, meet us there and help us with our unbelief so that we can come to you with confidence.
Teach us to trust you more deeply. Remind us that when we pray, we are not speaking into emptiness but coming before a faithful Father who hears us and cares for us.
Draw us closer to you during this season. Quiet the doubts that compete for our attention and anchor our hearts in your character.
Holy Spirit, continue your work within us. Transform our hearts, soften the places that resist you, and shape us into people who trust, forgive, and believe.
Amen.