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Whoever, Whatever, Whenever

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.' Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." (Mark 11:22-25)

ONE day Jesus was walking along with His disciples when He spoke three astonishing words, words that introduce important keys for releasing the power of heaven on earth and for accomplishing mighty things through prayer and faith. These three words are whoever, whatever, and whenever. Before we look closer at these words, let's take a moment to consider a few things about the context.

First, Jesus says, "Have faith in God." A more literal rendering is "Have faith of God." That is, have the God kind of faith, the kind of faith that comes from God. There is a faith that comes from God, and a faith that comes from the world. The faith that comes from the world teaches us to trust in ourselves and to be moved by circumstances. It conditions us to be directed by our own understanding and to rely on our thoughts, emotions and senses. The faith that comes from God brings us into total dependence upon Him, leaning fully on His Word and the rich promises He has given us. This is the Bible kind of faith. It comes from God and it leads us back to Him.

Every one of us can have the faith that comes from God. Paul said, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Faith begins where the will of God is known, and the will of God is revealed in the Word of God. The faith that comes from God will never be in conflict with God's will or God's Word. All three come from Him and will always be in agreement.

Second, when Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you," He is being very emphatic. Although the New Testament was written in Greek, the word translated "assuredly" is the Aramaic word amen. You probably recognize this word, it is the same one we use to close our prayers. It is also translated as "verily" and "truly." Whenever Jesus wants to say something directly, boldly and forcefully, He uses this word.

Third, although Jesus is speaking to the first disciples here, these words are intended for a much wider audience. Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus commissioned the disciples to "make disciples of all the nations ... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). This means that all the whoevers, whatevers and whenevers Jesus taught the first disciples apply equally to all of His disciples in all times and places.

Whoever says to this mountain ...

Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

This promise is for whoever exercises faith. As important as it is for us to have faith, that is not enough. It is also important what we do with that faith. Notice that the key here is not just in believing, but also in saying. In fact, Jesus uses the word "says" three times and the word "believes" only once. It is not enough just to have faith, we must also exercise it by what we say, speaking words that are in agreement with what we believe.

This is exactly what Jesus did. He spoke to the wind and the waves, "Peace, be still," not doubting in His heart, but believing those things He said would be done. And they were — the wind ceased and there was calm (Mark 4:39). He spoke to the fig tree, believing those things that He said would be done. And they were — the fig tree withered and no one ever ate from it again (Mark 11:12-21). Jesus did not accomplish these things out of His divinity, but out of His humanity. He believed with His heart and spoke with His mouth. What He said with His mouth was in complete agreement with what He believed in His heart, and He received whatever He said.

Jesus promises the same for us. Whoever takes the faith that comes from God and exercises it by saying what he believes and believing what he says — he will have whatever he says.

Whatever things you ask ...

Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Here is a simple but powerful key to answered prayer that many Christians often miss: When you pray, believe that you receive what you are asking, and you will have it. Many Christians pray for various things, but they never see them because they do not believe that they receive when they pray. Then they wonder why their prayers get no results.

Jesus promises that you can have whatever things you ask for in prayer, if you believe that you receive them. Notice that He did not say to believe that you will receive them. He said to believe that you receive them when you pray. The receiving is present tense, not future tense. In fact, the NASB translates this as "believe that you have received them," that is, that the receiving has already taken place.

Obviously, this requires us to exercise the faith that God has given to us. Many people will pray for something, then get up and say, "Well, we'll just have to wait and see." In other words, they do not believe they received what they asked for when they prayed. They believe that only time will tell. But they never have their answer because they have not prayed the way Jesus told us to pray.

When we pray, we are to believe that we have received whatever things we have asked. This does not mean that the answer immediately shows up in the natural realm, but it does mean that it has already been given to us in the spiritual realm. There is a natural realm and there is a spiritual realm, and the spiritual realm is the higher of the two. So whatever is true in the spiritual realm must eventually manifest in the natural realm; the facts of the natural must eventually line up with the truth of the spiritual.

The Bible says, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14-15). Here again we see that praying, believing and receiving all happen at the same time. When we pray according to the will of God, which is revealed in the Word of God, and we exercise faith, which comes by hearing the Word, we can know that we have received whatever we have asked.

Whenever you pray ...

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

Jesus is not changing the subject here. He is still talking about having the faith of God, moving mountains and receiving answers to prayer. But now He is talking about something that requires just as much faith as moving mountains — forgiving others.

Whenever you pray, forgive. Forgive anyone. Of anything. Period.

One day Peter came up to Jesus and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "Seventy times seven." In other words, there is no limit.

That kind of forgiveness requires great faith — faith that comes from God. On another occasion, Jesus spoke of forgiving someone seven times in one day. The disciples immediately said, "Lord, increase our faith!" But Jesus answered with the parable about faith as a mustard seed. It is not the size of the seed that is important, it is what you do with it. Faith, like a seed, must be planted.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Forgiveness is a big issue with God, every bit as big as hallowing His name, giving out daily bread, and delivering us from evil. When we pray, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," we must realize that in heaven there is no unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness is one of the greatest obstacles to prayer, faith, and the work of God on the earth. This is because it is a form of unbelief. It is a failure to trust God to take care of us in every situation. To forgive is to suffer a loss. For example, if someone owes me a thousand dollars and I forgive the debt, I'm out a thousand dollars. It takes faith to forgive, to trust that God will restore the loss and make us whole again. Therefore, whenever you stand to pray and exercise faith, the first thing you must do is forgive.

Jesus spoke three powerful words to his disciples: whoever, whatever, whenever. If you will learn the lessons they contain, then you can speak to mountains and expect to see them move. You can have whatever you ask for in prayer. You can remove the biggest hindrance to prayer and faith, and find the power to forgive. Then you will see the will of God done on earth as it is in heaven.

© 2002 Jeff Doles.
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