ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE“THE CONDITIONAL PROMISE”
A good believer who went to church regularly and read the Bible everyday, was told he could claim whatever he wanted by just asking the Lord, because the Bible says, “Ask and You shall receive”. So day after day he prayed in the morning that he wanted a TV, a bike and a house. He kept asking, claiming and confessing ‘faith confessions. One day he saw an advertisement in the newspaper that said he could buy anything he wanted by taking loans. He took that to be a sign from the Lord and bought all that he wanted by applying for huge loans. He thought that God had answered all his prayers and soon he became lazy to even go to work. After a few months, his wife gave birth to a child but they did not have enough money to handle the needs of the growing family and also manage the loans. Soon the whole family was broken because of the financial strain. The trouble began when he started claiming the verse from the Bible without understanding the context of the verse or what he needed to do to receive from the Lord.
Well, we all like this statement, “Ask and You Shall Receive”. We think we just have to ask for whatever we want and we will surely get it. But most of the time this verse appears in the Bible with a condition.
Let us look into some verses that tell us what we ought to do in order to receive when we ask.
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
We receive what we ask for, when we have a relationship with the Father.
Here we see that we do not get what we want by just claiming it in the name of Jesus or repeating it through monotonous faith confessions. Instead whatever we ask for should be a part of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We cannot use God like a genie that comes at our beck and call, whenever the lamp is rubbed. We will receive what we ask for, only when we have a daily relationship with the Father through the blood of Jesus.
Matthew 7: 11
If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
As a Father, He will give us only what is good for us.
A 5 year old can like to have a car. But if the child asks for the car, the father will not buy it for the child because only the father knows that even though the car is a good thing, at this age it is very dangerous for the child to drive a car.
James 4:3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
We receive, only if we ask with the right motives.
If we want something from God to prove a point or out of selfish ambition, He will never give what we want. God looks deep inside the heart and knows every inclination of a man’s heart. Even if people don’t see through our deep motives, God does.
I John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
God grants our requests when we ask anything according to His will.
We cannot get what our Father does not want us to have. There is no need to pray for something our Father does not wish us to obtain. We can get it ourselves and bear the consequences. But when we do His will, He will give us the grace we need.
John 16:24
Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
To receive, we must ask in the name of Jesus.
Only when we have a relationship with someone, we can ask things in their name. I cannot ask anything in the name of the President of my country, even though he is a powerful man. I will not get anything because I don’t know him personally. But if I know him, then it is entirely a different story. Also God will grant things that will make your joy complete, not the things that will make you sad. Some people ask God, like prophet Elijah ( I Kings 19:4) ,to take their life. God will never answer such prayers.
Matthew 21:22
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
We receive what we ask for, when we ask in faith.
This verse also emphasizes the need for faith when we ask. We should not just ask for the sake of asking but should ask with faith, knowing that God will answer and whatever be the answer it will be for our good and not evil.
John 14:13-14
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
God does whatever we ask Him, when it glorifies His name.
He will not do anything that will dishonouror bring profanity to His name. He will never answer when a child wants to do something in rebellion against his parents. He will always be faithful and righteous. There is no wrong that can be found in Him. So next time we ask God for something, we must ensure that it will bring glory to God . Only then can we receive it.
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
We receive when we have a grateful spirit.
God always sees how grateful we are for what He has already done. If we have a murmuring or complaining spirit, we surely cannot receive anything from Geod.
John 15:7
If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
We have to remain in Him, to receive anything from Him.
This is very important while asking God for something we want. We must abide in Him and His words should be in us. We cannot be in an on and off relationship with God. Many a time people come to God when they need something and then they forget God until the next need comes. God wants to be involved in our lives even when we don’t need anything. When we are happy,He wants to be part of our joy. When we decide on something, He does want to be consulted. We should not go to God only when we run into trouble but at all times remain in Him and let His word abide in us. Then when we ask it will be done unto us.
Psalms 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
God gives us our desires when we delight ourselves in Him .
We should be happy in Him, treasure our time with Him and value His relationship. We should not pray, or do things for the Lord out of compulsion or obligation but it should be our greatest joy and delight. Then we will receive what we desire.
John 9: 31
We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does His will.
God answers when we are godly and without sin.
We clearly come to understand here that if there is any sin in our life, God will not answer us. Sin is one of the main reasons why our prayers go unanswered.
In all this we see that the basis for asking and receiving is the relationship we have with the one whom we ask. If we have a good relationship with the Lord and abide in Him, no good thing will He withhold from us. If our relationship is so good with Him that we constantly remain in Him, He will give us what we need even before we ask Him. So let us strive to remain in Him and keep us free from any sin so that His will alone be done in our lives.
Stay Blessed!
Let us pray..
Dear Lord Our Heavenly Father,
We come to you in the name of your son Jesus. We ask that we will have the desire to abide in you always. We pray that we will learn to ask according to your will, with faith, not with wrong motives to hurt ourselves or hurt others; but to glorify your Holy name in every way. Help us to desire for the Holy Spirit more than any worldly thing. Forgive us of all our sins and for the times we have asked you anything with wrong motives. We rejoice in you and thank you with all our heart for all that you have done in our lives. Abide in us Lord and let your words abide in us so that we can apply it in our day to day life. We ask all this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Happy Asking!
Merilyn Jemimah Amirtharaj.
