SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1094

“Asking God”

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened… – Matthew 7:7-9

The Bible has so much to say about asking God, yet for many Christians this remains a most confusing aspect of our relationship with our heavenly Father. Church doctrines also vary widely on the topic which adds to the confusion. So how do we balance the sum of the Scripture on the topic?

We begin by acknowledging that God is Sovereign and His Word is Truth without error. Our Father in heaven is not an eternal ATM where all we need to do is follow a prescribed set of prayers, make our request and receive what we want. We cannot presume to usurp His throne and place ourselves in His position. His will prevails.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will; And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. – Ephesians 1:1; 1 John 5:14-15

In addition, we need to understand and accept that God does not always say, ‘Yes’. God sometimes says ‘No’ and ‘Not Yet’. Our Father loves us more than we can imagine and He wants the best for us. Jesus prayed in the garden for the cup to pass from Him, yet God allowed the crucifixion to proceed. Paul prayed for the ‘thorn in his flesh’ to be removed and God told him ‘No’. We have to trust in God and in His perfect will for us. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

God wants us to ask – but with the right motive. Like the Janis Joplin song asking God for a Mercedes because her friends all had Porsches, are our prayer requests merely ‘keeping up with the Jones’? …You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. – James 4:2-3

Our prayer requests should glorify Jesus and bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son;  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. – John 14:13; John 15:16

Our Father wants us to ask – but in the right context. We must not ignore God until such time as we need something from Him. We must have an abiding relationship with Him through Jesus. This abiding presence of Jesus gives us faith, confidence and casts out doubt.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you; And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” – John 15:7; Matthew 21:22

May your hearts’ desire align with God’s perfect will for you through the abiding presence of Jesus.