By Emily Wooten
In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.”
According to this and other verses in the Bible, what we believe determines what we receive.
Jesus, the head of the church, author of our salvation and soon coming king said in Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
It isn’t enough to have mental asset or acknowledge the scripture exist. That is head knowledge.
Perhaps before you believed with your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you may have been able to acknowledge there was a God. Perhaps you could have agreed there was a Christ child, angels, a heaven and hell. That alone did not cause your spirit to be reborn.
Scripture tells us in Matthew 18:16 …in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Matthew agrees with Mark’s account in Matthew 21:22 …all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Both agree Jesus said ask or pray and believe. In Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. In Romans 10: 9 Paul said, “…if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you shalt be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The “way” to faith is being persuaded or convinced in our heart. It isn’t a magic wand or a spell we cast. When we take the words God has given us and speak them to the situation we are acting on our covenant with God, accessing available resources and being obedient in the face of obstacles.
We can’t take the word saying it if we don’t know it.
Know: to perceive directly: have direct cognition (to reason or recall): to have understanding of.
We do not recite the word or just memorize scriptures. We have to be able to understand their function and apply them in our situation. Before we say, we have to check our heart. If there is doubt we review the scriptures or promises we are standing on until we “Know” as if we could see it with our eyes because our heart sees what God says is true.