23For 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.
24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
The cursing of the fig tree, among other lessons, was intended to teach us about the omnipotence of God in answering our prayers. Figurative as well as literal mountains are moved every day in answer to prayer.
Also connected to prayer and getting our prayers answered is the matter of forgiveness. Jesus makes it clear that if we do not forgive those who have grieved us, we need not expect that God is going to forgive us for our offenses against Him. When Jesus mentions the possibility that God will not forgive us, He is speaking of forgiveness of the temporal consequences of our sins. He is saying that God will not suspend any of the earthly temporal consequences of our sins unless we forgive others. He is not speaking of the eternal forgiveness that made our salvation a reality, and He is not saying that a truly born-again person’s salvation is in jeopardy. Not having one’s prayers answered and not being forgiven by God is a very high price to pay for carrying a grudge. May the Lord help us to forgive others while we still have the time to do so.
Note: Many of the new translations leave out verse 26. However, there is much evidence for its genuineness. No Christian should even think of throwing it out of the Bible.