Life Plan Devotion #114 [Get prayers answered, 5th condition, Part I]

Mark 11:24 "...Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it]" (Amplified).

Of the 7 basic conditions to answered prayer, we have looked at the first four:
1) Pray in the Name of Jesus.
2) Pray with praise and thanksgiving.
3) Pray without known (unconfessed) sin in your life.
4) Pray with the right motive, which is God's glory.
Today and tomorrow, we will look at the fifth condition: 5) Pray from the place of right relationship. Take some time to examine your relationship with your spouse, child(ren), parent(s), coworker(s), boss, church family, etc.
In thinking about each of those people and your relationship with them, did you feel a "check" in your spirit? Don't be surprised, because "the heart knows its own bitterness..." (Proverbs 14:10, NKJV).
If nothing comes up for you, just to be sure all your relationships are "right," ask a trusted friend or your spouse to help you discern any relationship that needs tending. In the story of the conversion of Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9-25), Peter confronts Simon and, with discernment, says, "...your heart is not right in the sight of God. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness, and bound by iniquity" (Acts 8:21, 23, NKJV).
One cannot discuss the importance of right relationships to answered prayer without broaching the topic of forgiveness.
Did you know you can grieve the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 4:30 admonishes the believer with, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin)" (Amplified).
Instead of grieving the Holy Spirit, we are to "Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).
Read our key verse (at the top) once again. The verse that follows (Mark 11:25) says, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop" (Amplified). The implication is that if you choose to continue praying rather than forgive, your prayer will be ineffective.

What this has to do with weight loss: The weight-loss journey brings up much more than the need to release weight. After weight-loss surgery, especially, emotions are on edge, and if there are relationship issues pre-op, they will be magnified post-op. Seek help, and learn to forgive. If you don't, you will struggle, eventually, to release the weight or maintain the weight loss.

Confession:
I want to be confident that my prayers are heard and my requests granted, so I tend to my relationship with others. I want God's forgiveness for myself, so I am quick to forgive others.