Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
In today’s verse we find Jesus saying something that sounds exactly like what Miss Watson told Huck Finn in yesterday’s Word of Encouragement. The difference is that this statement exists in the context of the entire teaching and life of Jesus as St. Mark is reporting it to us. Jesus, for instance, would not recommend praying to God for the damnation of your enemies and your own salvation, since in the next verse he specifically says we must forgive “so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Likewise, we cannot pray for the power to worship Mammon well or for God to do neat tricks with the laws of physics just to entertain us. As ever, the “whatever” Jesus mentions presupposes that what we are praying for is in accord with what God wills. That said, we must also note that this is still a huge “whatever” and that history is replete with examples of saints who prayed very big things in accord with God’s will and who got what they asked for. Today, dare to ask, in union with Christ’s Holy Church, for the gigantic realities of faith, hope and love to change your world in a real and concrete way. God will listen and act in Christ Jesus. He promises.