The Faith That Takes What God Gave

Mark 11:24

24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
NKJV

Matt 21:22

22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
NKJV

My Comments:

In Mark 11:24, many of us seem to think that receiving from God is a passive thing, that when we pray, all we have to do is just wait for the answer to our prayers to just fall into our laps like ripe cherries (or durian, depending on where you are) off a tree. Some people spend years just waiting and wondering why their breakthrough or miracle seem to be taking so long. Others give up and say 'Maybe it's just not God's will that I get my breakthrough [whether it be healing, financial provision, reconciliation]'

Many translations translate the word 'receive' as 'receive', when in reality, if we were to look at it in Greek, it gives an entirely different definition altogether.

In Greek, the word 'receive' is the word 'lambano', and its meanings are as follows:

I. to take,
II. to receive (what is given); to gain, get, obtain:

If we were to rephrase Mark 11:24 according to the primary meaning of the word 'lambano'; that is 'to take', it gives the Christian a more active role in the appropriation of their blessings, rather than being passive and waiting for it to come. We would not be doing a great injustice if we worded it as 'believe that you take them, and you will have them'.

It is similar to our salvation experience, where we experience being born again. It didn't come to us like ripe cherries off a tree. We made an active decision to declare by faith that we were redeemed from sin through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believed that we 'took' our salvation, and we received it by faith!

To provide a balance to it, as we have seen excesses in this teaching, I want to clarify that we should have faith to take what God has so graciously provided to start with.

Eph 2:8-9

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
NKJV
 
We cannot boast that we managed to 'earn' our blessings because we 'took' them by faith. We can't take by force something that hasn't been provided for us to start with. For us to take, Someone had to offer it first!

God, in His mercy, has extended out His hand towards us, and given us promises in the Bible regarding His faithfulness to meet our need in all areas of our life. He made the first move, and we have to make an active decision to respond to His faithfulness and appropriate; or lay hold of His promises by faith.