Mark 11:25: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

February 6th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Jesus said, “And whenever you stand praying,” because standing was the usual Hebrew posture when petitioning God. Of course this applies to all of us whenever we come asking anything of our God, no matter what position we choose to take while praying. Jesus said, while you’re praying, “if you have anything against anyone forgive him.” This is one of the primary, fundamental conditions necessary in order for our prayers to prevail. If, while we are praying, someone who has committed something against us or has caused us injury comes to our minds, instead of complaining to God about them, asking Him to avenge our cause, we must immediately, in and from our hearts, forgive that person.

We find in this statement a caution; we need to be careful about how we worship in our hearts. We can’t allow anything to remain undealt with in our hearts or lives that hinders us from being able to commune completely with God. He is more interested in communion than in ceremony because what He really wants is for us to fellowship with Him. God wants us to touch Him through prayer. He wants us to serve Him with all of our hearts. Prayer and worship are never to be mindless rote, merely going through the motions. They are to be a conscious act of coming into a divine encounter with the living God, an encounter that changes our lives a little more every time it happens.

“LORD, help us, as we seek fellowship with You this moment, to forgive that person we need to forgive. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”