"What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." (Mark 11:24)
But the Lord does not wish us to believe what is not so; He does not tell us to believe that we have a thing, when we do not have it; for that would be to believe a lie.
Therefore He means that when we pray we receive the things that we ask for, while we are asking. "He that asks, receives." (Matthew 7:8)
But of course we must ask in faith, that is, according to God's will and Word. The man who does not ask in faith, need not expect to receive anything.
But whoever asks for the things that God has promised to give us, should know that he gets them in the asking.--Present Truth, January 2, 1902--Original title: Back Page.