The Holy Priest-Martyr Cyprian; the Holy Martyr Justina; and the Holy Andrew, Fool for the Sake of Christ
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Ephesians 3:8-21; Mark 11:23-26
Today the Lord gives us an important teaching on prayer. The kind of prayer that moves mountains. There are several key factors that elevate our prayer: belief without doubt, standing and forgiveness. To believe without a doubt is more than just having a conviction that God exists. It is a wholehearted belief, or a lifting up of my whole being, without dividing myself—in Greek “without a doubt” literally means ‘without division or separation’. The outcome of sin is separation and division, so the Lord is trying to explain that not only should we have a deep-rooted conviction in His power and ability, but a pure heart for this allows us to give our whole self to God. By mentioning standing, the Lord is not only reminding us that this is the ancient posture for prayer, but that one who stands is able to give full attention and respect to the focus of prayer. Lastly, the Lord reminds us that withholding forgiveness in forms of grudges or anger toward someone destroys prayer for it burdens the heart and prevents our whole heart from uniting with God. This is why St. James says, “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. (James 5:16)”