Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-26 NKJV

The Scriptures teach us to have strong confidence when approaching God in prayer. If we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us. And if we know that God hears our prayer — whatever we ask — we also know that we have what we’ve desired of God (1 John 5:14-15). In prayer everything is possible according to God’s will except for when there is doubt or unforgiveness in our heart. Doubt confuses faith in God, and unforgiveness hinders faith that could otherwise “move mountains (Mark 11:23). God first and foremost forgives us and we must forgive ourselves and others.  Forgiveness flows from God to us and faith flows from us to God. Unforgiveness clogs up the flow of faith in the “prayer pipeline.”

Unforgiveness is like a spiritual poison. Poison is any substance that causes harm, sickness, or death if it gets into our body. When unforgiveness gets in our heart, a root of bitterness, animosity, ill-will and resentment toward the unforgiven one will spring up to trouble us and defile our faith (Heb. 12:15). Unforgiveness poisons prayer.

When you stand praying, forgiveness is a basic condition for an answered prayer. Could this be God’s paternalistic way of dealing with us, His children—as our heavenly Father—to administer reproof and correction? (See Matt. 6:10, 12, 14-15). When we harbor unforgivness in our heart, we deny the character and nature of God and deny His character and nature in us; we basically bind love and acceptance and loose anger, animosity, ill-will, ill-feelings, and even rejection (Matt. 18:18); and, we empower the unforgiven one and while depowering ourselves. Unforgiveness poisons prayer and our fellowship with the Father and hinders the flow of blessings when we pray (Mark 11:25-26).