Our Venerable Fathers Paul of Thebes (312-37) and John the Hut-Dweller (465-74)
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James 3:11-4:6; Mark 11:23-26
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Our Lord gives us two conditions for efficacious prayer: faith and forgiveness. Faith is so important that without it our words in prayer become empty and weak. Our complete trust and reliance on God, who is always faithful toward us, includes the confident conviction that he will hear our prayer. The Lord uses the image of mountains being cast into the sea to emphasize the limitless power of prayer when it is rooted in unconditional faith, which can overcome, or transform, all barriers standing in the way of God’s will even if they seem impossible.
Our Lord assures his disciples that in him they too are included in the filial relationship with God—through Jesus we too are to call God our loving Father. We who are the beloved children of the Heavenly Father are to confidently pray with total trust that He will hear us, take care of us and grant us His divine mercy and forgiveness. A roadblock to abiding in the grace filled prayer is unforgiveness. Jesus spells out a spiritual law for us that we cannot enter into a life of grace and receive forgiveness ourselves unless we forgive others their debts. In other words, unless we first release the debts of others, which in reality are minuscule when compared to the whole of our life in eternity, our prayer will not be heard nor will we be able to enter into the life of grace.