It has to be one of the boldest statements Jesus ever made: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” At the same time, it is not one of the most surprising statements Jesus ever made. Jesus is the King of Kings, the King of Glory, the King over All the Earth, but he is also the King of Unlimited Possibilities. Over and over again, throughout the gospels, Jesus emphasizes the unlimited possibilities for the one who has faith. Using a variety of examples, he helps the disciples understand that nothing is impossible for the one who has faith: fig trees will wither before you, mountains will be cast into the sea, demons will be cast out, and you will see the glory of God…if you believe. And it doesn’t take much faith to make possible the seemingly impossible—only faith the size of a mustard seed.
Over and over again, throughout the gospels, Jesus emphasizes the unlimited possibilities for the one who has faith.
Jesus places “prayer” at the intersection between what is impossible with human beings and the unlimited possibilities with God: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Through prayer, we make a right-hand turn at that intersection—from traveling on the road of what is impossible for us to traveling on the road of what is possible for God. The secret here, of course, is that we must ask. Christian pastor Adrian Rogers once said, “Satan can’t keep God from answering our prayers, but he will keep us from asking.” James says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:2).
Therefore, if we are going to join God in what He is up to and be used by Him to accomplish His purposes, we are each called to trust that, “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” If we are faced with what seems like an insurmountable challenge in our own lives; if God touches us with a heart of compassion for the lives of others who are also facing what seem like overwhelming odds; if we find ourselves standing at the intersection between what is impossible for us and what is possible for God, Jesus has called us to “ask in prayer, believing” and he has promised us that “you will receive.”
Even in the darkest hour of his life, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus clung to the God of Unlimited Possibilities. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). What Jesus received in answer to his prayer was not a rescue from the crucifixion, but it was, in the resurrection, the greatest miracle the world has ever witnessed of the impossible being made into the possible!
What is it that you are facing right now that is scary, uncertain, hopeless, pressuring, confusing? Does any of it seem impossible to you? Jesus would encourage you to take a bold stand upon one of the boldest statements he ever made: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” By God’ grace, make your bold stand at the intersection of the impossible with you and the possible with God, at the intersection of your need and God’s supply, and then turn right…toward this great promise: “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”