June 7: Do you have anything against anyone?

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 11:25 — New King James Version)

Prayer is not a Lotto ticket where the lucky one-in-a-million gets the prize — God wants to answer your prayers even more than you want Him to. He has great plans for your life. If you take a close look at the promises of God in the Bible you will be amazed at their scope and power. There is no area of your life that is not covered by God’s promised answers to prayer. He is interested in every area of your life. It’s hard to comprehend why, but that’s God for you.

The Word of God encourages, even demands, that we believe in the miraculous. Moving mountains, controlling rainfall, healing the sick, freeing people from years of oppression, and influencing governments and world events are just a few of the many recorded ways that prayer changed things in the Bible. There is no limit to what can be accomplished by prayer.

And yet, there is something that will cause our prayers to have no effect — unforgiveness. In fact, this may block more prayers than anything else. No matter what people have done to you, how unjust their treatment, how much they hurt you, you cannot hold bitterness in your heart. Why not? Won’t I be allowing that person to get away scot-free? God knows how destructive unforgiveness is, not to the other person, but to you. If someone needs to be punished, let God take care of it. (Of course, when it comes to legal matters a person may have to pay for their crimes.) 

The important thing is that you stay free from the oppressive, enslaving influence of unforgiveness — it makes us obsess about the past, it makes us bitter and negative, it clouds our judgment and blocks us from seeing the good in other people, and unforgiveness causes us to lug around unnecessary baggage for years of our lives. — It’s your decision. If you want your prayers to be answered, you know what you have to do. And another thing, don’t wait to feel like forgiving, otherwise you’ll never get around to it.