We need faith to receive from God and to please God. God has dealt to every Christian the measure of faith and He intended for it to work for us. Faith, though, works by certain principles.
Mark 11:22-26, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespasses.”
First, FAITH WORKS BY SAYING. “Whosoever shall say… but shall believe those things which he saith…he shall have whatsoever he saith,” Mark 11:23. Your words express your “will” of what you believe. The spirit of faith believes and speaks (2 Corinthians 4:13). Therefore, faith is in two places – in our heart and in our mouth (Romans 10:8-10).
Secondly, FAITH WORKS BY PRAYING. “…when ye pray, believe…,” Mark 11:24. Prayer does not cause faith to work but faith causes prayer to work.
Thirdly, FAITH WORKS BY FORGIVING. “When ye stand praying forgive,” Mark 11:25. The best time to forgive is at the time of the offense. Do not allow unforgiveness to remain beyond the time that you stand in prayer. Forgiveness causes faith to work in prayer. Forgiveness of others offenses causes God to release you of your offenses. Galatians 5:6 says that faith works by love and one of the greatest acts of love is to forgive in the midst of personal conflict.
Our faith will not work with unforgiveness in our heart, but forgiveness itself will not be possible except by using our faith. In Luke 17:1-4, Jesus taught about offenses and offering forgiveness even for repeated daily offenses against us. The apostles hearing this asked the Lord to increase their faith (Luke 17:5). Both their question and Jesus’ response shows faith is involved with forgiveness. Jesus said it is about using our faith like we use a seed. We should treat our faith as a seed, increasing our faith by planting it like a seed.
Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), it means to plant the Word of God which is the seed of faith. If you need a harvest of forgiveness, plant the seed of the Word of God on forgiveness in your heart. Whatever we sow in our heart, we can reap out of it. Make faith coming to you equal to the Word being planted in you. You can then increase your faith for forgiveness by increasing the Word being planted in your heart.
We can forgive by faith (not by how we feel) more easily the more our heart is built up in faith by hearing God’s Word and planting it in your heart. Faith always comes when we hear God’s Word (Romans 10:17).
Pastor John Rasicci is the founder and Pastor of Word of His Grace Church in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where we are building people who are building the Church. Pastor's ministry mission is to help people discover God's dream for their Life, the Local Church, and the Last Days' Harvest. With a strong emphasis on the grace of God and with a prophetic voice, Pastor John preaches and teaches in churches, conferences, and crusades both locally and throughout the world. He has produced books, tapes, and other teaching materials to empower, enable, and equip Believers with the Word of God. Pastor John is married to his wife Candy who with their three children, Krista, Joanna, John Anthony, and two son-in-laws, Matt and Doug, serve together in the ministry. After graduating from Kent State University, Pastor John pursued a career in professional baseball before accepting the call to the ministry. He and his wife, Candy, received their ministry training from Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
John Rasicci 
Thanks so much for this reflection. It was a blessings. Greetings from Santa Ana, El Salvador.