NOTES for Mar 11:23-26
Only two things does the Lord call essential for prayer in today's Gospel reading. He speaks of faith and forgiveness. It is very important that Christ is not speaking about faith that the God to whom our prayer is addressed exists. That, generally speaking, is self-evident. Nor is the Lord speaking about faith that the prayer will be heard, though that too is important. Rather, He emphatically speaks of completely childlike trust in God: believe that you will receive what you ask for, and it will be yours. Here lies the boundary between prayer and magical spells, between communion with our loving heavenly Father and forcing ourselves into a state of ecstasy. And the second thing the Savior commands us is this: for prayer to take place, it is necessary to forgive. For it is forgiveness that creates the "territory" of communion where man and God have something that unites them. God forgives us, and if we try to forgive one another, then our common language with God is built up.