These two verses get a lot of attention when it comes to asking and receiving for things from God. If you are going to pray, believe and receive the way God intends for you to then there are some important things you need to see about these two verses.

First of all, notice that verse 23 is about saying and verse 24 is about praying. There is a "therefore" that connects them. So you could say that verse 23 is connected to verse 24. Or, the "saying" of verse 23 is somehow connected to the "praying" of verse 24. Speaking and praying are not the same thing. Prayer is more than just speaking. Prayer is talking to God, asking of Him in the sense of seeking Him and His will and His way of doing things. Prayer is also listening to Him. It’s allowing Him to show you the way and receive guidance and direction from Him. Prayer is different from the "saying" described in verse 23. In verse 23 you are speaking to a mountain. In verse 24 you are communicating with God. The reason this is important is because you don't want to talk to God like verse 23 describes. Verse 23 is for mountains, not for prayer.

Also notice that in verse 23 Jesus is not talking about getting your desires. He didn’t say to speak what you desire. He said to pray about what you desire. There are some that teach this verse in such a way that people have misunderstood and thought they could just speak what they want over and over and they would get it. But verse 23 is not about how to get what you want. It’s about how to deal with opposition and hindrances! Jesus didn’t intend for you to think that just because you speak something over and over again you’re going to get what you desire. If you do that then you're in danger of trying to take a principle God has given you to use on obstacles and problems and use that principle on Him! To demand from Him! Jesus is telling you to pray to God about your desires--not to just speak what you desire.

Remember Jesus said when you pray not to use "vain repetitions" as the heathen do. (Matthew 6:7). He said they think they will be heard because of their "much speaking." Don't think God will hear you just because you speak something a lot. God doesn't hear you just because you say something over and over.

Once you get this straight and you see the proper use of verse 23 against the obstacles like God intended, (instead of against Him trying to get Him to give you what you want), then ask yourself which obstacles are you using this principle against? Which path are you on? Are you on the path God wants you to be on or are you on your own path? I have been known to follow paths that aren't God's will for me but were my own "good ideas." You may have a desire to start a ministry--for the poor, the homeless, those in prison, hospitals etc. You may have plans for your family or business. And they all may be good ideas. But is it the path God desires for you? If you go down that path and hit some obstacles you may be correct in principle by letting those obstacles know that they are not going to stop you, but you may be on the wrong path and therefore speaking to the wrong mountain! And what you think may be a mountain that needs to be moved may in fact be an angel with a sword that you can't see! (Numbers 22:23). You're running into the angel’s sword and getting all cut up because God is trying to keep you from going a way you shouldn't! And you think it’s an obstacle from the devil or someone else and you're trying to speak to it and get it to go! So before you start speaking to those mountains you need to make sure you really are supposed to be going that way. You might get it to work, or at least appear to work, for a while. You might be able to make things look good out of sheer willpower and determination but there's going to be more trouble the further down the path you go. God could be trying to let you know you're going the wrong way and you think it's a mountain that you need to speak to.

Notice that you speak directly to the mountain--or the obstacle. Jesus was talking about a mountain that was in the way. It needed to be cast into the sea. The path needed to be leveled out. You need to identify the mountains in your life. You need to know which mountains to speak to. You need to be able to point out what are the hindrances and obstacles that are in your way. But in order to identify an obstacle in your way you have to know which way you're going! When I was cleaning out our spare bedroom and going through a ton of old books, my husband, who used to be a Police Officer, told me to throw away all of his old police books. He knew he wasn't going that way again. Having clarity of vision keeps you from clutter. It keeps your path clear. But if you don't know which direction you're supposed to go then you don't know what to keep and what to throw away. You don't know what is clutter and what is a tool you might need. You won't be able to recognize a hindrance in the way if you don't know which way you're supposed to be going.

You can't get around the fact that God wants you to seek Him and His will for your life. Try as hard as you might, you'll never have the kind of blessing you're seeking on your endeavors without that. God never intended to give you a formula to get whatever you want so that you never have to talk to Him or seek His will. Jesus said "whosoever" says to the mountain… But He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say unto you…" Anyone can speak to mountains, but He wants His disciples to pray to Him.

This whole conversation took place after Jesus had cursed the fig tree. He cursed it because it wasn't producing fruit. If something isn't producing fruit on the path that you are on then you need to take a look at that. You may need to put an end to something that isn't bearing fruit. We get off track sometimes and rather than trying to keep going that way, we're better off just admitting we got off the path and repent and get back on the right path.

Verse 23 says, "…shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe…" and verse 24 says, "…believe that ye receive…" Believing and not doubting are key points in clearing the path and progressing down it. But more than that, they are how you discover what the path is. To help understand what this means, consider what John wrote.

"If our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God and whatever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:21-22).

Believing and not doubting is when there's no conviction or disturbance in your heart. Then you'll get what you're asking for when you pray. But you need to pray. You need to ask. You need to seek. You need to talk to God about it. We don't know what we need or which way to go, we need Him. We don't have it in ourselves to know which way we're supposed to go.

Believing doesn't mean that you use God's power to go the way of your own desires. On the contrary, believing means that you've sought and discovered God's will for your life and have submitted to it. You can have confidence, assurance and even boldness when you have clarity in your heart about the way God is leading you. I think we often have a path or a desire that we want to pursue and we try and convince ourselves that it's God's will for us. Then we have conflict going on within us but we don't recognize it because we are so stubborn about getting our own way. Or we think the conflict is doubt that we're supposed to rebuke or ignore. If there's doubt then it’s there for a reason! We have this inner turmoil going on and we go to great lengths to try and continue on that path. We're spending a lot of time, energy, money, ambition etc on a path that leads nowhere. We're spinning our wheels, waiting for the big miracle to come change our lives. We're waiting to hit the spiritual lotto.

Believing is something you choose to do. When you are presented with a truth, you choose whether you are going to believe that truth or not. But faith is a work that God is doing in you. He’s the author and finisher of your faith. (Hebrews 12:2). Faith is really your system of beliefs. He presents certain truths to you and as you accept those truths and believe them then your faith is building. He is structuring and building your faith—your system of beliefs—by continually presenting truths to you. Believing is not a thing you do to get what you want from God. It is something you do to acknowledge that you will accept a truth God presents as the truth and live your life accordingly. We need to understand this because it’s a vital point in bringing about unity in the body, as God desires to do.

"Desire" is a key word in Mark 11:24. What do you desire? What do you want? Really, which "way" do you want to go? Your way, or God's way? Your will, or God's will? This really isn't about asking for all the little petty things we do--new house, car, boat, special ministry etc. Verse 24 is basically saying:

"Whatever way you desire to go, (whichever way you're thinking looks appealing right now), when you pray and ask/seek God about it, then if you believe that you receive, (in other words if you have the faith or the conviction from God that this is the right way for you, that He has given you this path), then you will have it--you will be able to go that way." Then you take verse 23 into it and you could add "and whatever opposition you encounter, speak to it, believing and not doubting that this is the will of God for you, and it will move out of your way.

Verse 24 is about seeking and finding God's path for you and making sure that what you think is a good desire is really His will.

Verse 23 is about speaking to the obstacles in the way of that path.

If you still think that you can get whatever you want if you just stubbornly pursue it "in faith" then keep in mind what James said about why people weren’t getting answers to their prayers:

When you ask and don’t receive what you want then consider this verse. Are you asking for this thing because you’re going your own way, seeking your own glory or looking to build your own kingdom? God will honor your choice to not follow Him if that’s what you really want, but don’t say He is your Lord if you’re not going to follow Him on the path He’s leading you! I know that might sound hard but we need the truth, even if it’s a little hard to take at times.

The point is, God and all His power is not subservient to us. His Word, His faith and His power are not for us to "ask amiss" so we can consume upon our lusts. God loves you and wants to bless you but it’s hard to bless someone who’s demanding of that blessing isn’t it? It’s hard to bless someone who is unappreciative because they think you owe it to them and they don’t understand that you have every right to punish them instead of bless them isn’t it? In order for your love relationship with the Lord to be what it should be you need to remember the fear of the Lord. By doing so, you acknowledge that He doesn’t owe you anything and you become much more grateful for what He does do and has already done for you. You have been drafted into His army not to build your own Kingdom but His. And in order to do that you need to get "your orders" from Him. If you set out to go a way that you think is right without seeking Him then you’ll get into trouble. Of course, God does want you to be able to make some decisions on your own because you’ve developed a mind like Him. But you’ve still got to stay close to Him. You’ve got to abide in the vine. You’ve got to find the balance between the two.

When you have major decisions to make, please seek the Lord. And open your eyes and your heart to Him. Don’t just listen to the reasonings of your mind or the desires of your emotions, but listen with your heart. Listen beyond the words to the gut-feeling deep within. You will be so glad you did!