Therefore I [Jesus] tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

When we committed our bones to Jesus, he invaded our space. God replaced our Heart 1.0 with a brand new upgraded version: Heart 10.0.

Our new spiritual heart is able to “hear” God speak:

through the “God-breathed” writings in the Bible

and

through his Holy Spirit.

When we give Jesus Christ control of our lives, his Spirit verifies the credibility of God’s word. Believing prompts the Holy Spirit to inscribe a unique ID upon our spiritual core, and his inscription confirms that we possess eternal life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (I John 5:13) 

Believing is not an event that fades in the distance as we grow older. Believing connects us to the beyond-natural, “unseen” world where we live NOW.

Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. (II Cor. 4:18 Amplified Bible)

Just as inhaling and exhaling keeps our heart pumping and lungs taking in oxygen, for a Christian, believing keeps our relationship with God thriving.  

Jesus said: “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe…”

Believe what? Believe that God answers our prayers.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (I John 5:14)

Is it presumptuous or audacious to ask? No.

We live in a perpetual state of NEED. God expects us to ask for help, and we must believe with absolute certainty that he will answer us in every circumstance.  

The Apostle John explains: And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (I John 5:15)

But what if I ask for the wrong thing, or selfishly, or mistakenly, or with the wrong attitude?

God answers our prayers “according to his will.” When we believe, God answers our requests with sovereign wisdom that supports his unseen agenda. Our requests may be immature or out-of-sync with his will, but he will shape the answer to benefit his kingdom and our eternal destinies.

This is why we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)

“Believe that you received it, and it shall be yours,” Jesus said.

When we ask, we ALWAYS receive an answer.

God is in charge of a believer’s life, so:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7)

Ask. Believe. Rest.