Ask for what God Wants

“Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

These are words that Jesus spoke. These words are alive and have power to accomplish what Jesus said. Later on, when Jesus cursed the fig tree and His disciples were amazed that it had withered from the roots up, He said, “And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) Here are the qualifiers. First, we must ask. Then, we must ask in prayer. And we must believe without any doubt.

The first qualifier is that we must ask. We may not ask because we don’t know what to ask for or how to ask. This is true especially concerning spiritual things. We find what to ask for in His Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2Timothy 3:16) We can use any system to read God’s Word and find something to ask for, whether it’s direction, correction or instruction. But sometimes we are asking amiss.

James said, “You ask and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your lusts. (James 4:3) We all have asked and have not received at times. James tells us why. We’ve asked amiss. The word amiss means badly. But James just didn’t rebuke us for asking badly, he tells us how to ask. “But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, not dependable in all his ways.” (James 1:6-8) We must ask in faith believing without a doubt that it’s in God’s will, that our motives are pure, righteous and that it will glorify the Lord. John writes in his first epistle, “And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1John 3:22) This is not to say that we must do something good to receive. But the Lord looks at our hearts. Do we do those good things to please God and because we love Him or to get something? We may deceive others and even ourselves, but not God. And John writes again about receiving, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1John 5:14) Nothing pleases the Lord more than when we want the same things He wants.

Another qualifier for receiving is that we must be in prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God.  Many think they are praying, but they are begging. They only come to God when they’re in need. The phrase “in prayer” means in communication with God. He is with us. He sees our every move, knows our every thought and sees the motivations of our hearts. He is with us when we act righteously and when we don’t. He is not on a phone line that He only can talk with us when we dial up His number. He is constantly with us. We can be constantly speaking with Him. He is present and we can be in prayer continually. So, in prayer, a need comes up. God knows it. He’s waiting to see if we’re going to trust Him and depend on Him or are we going to depend on our own futile attempts to bring peace and resolution to the need.

God is peace. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Jesus makes it clear. He is peace. And He is giving us of Himself to us. When we have Jesus we have peace. If you’re a child of God, a follower of Jesus, you have peace. If you feel that you don’t, check your commitment. Did you really give Jesus your life? This is one check only we can make. No one knows your feelings and your inner life, only the Lord. Don’t deceive yourself. Take the measures the Lord has shown us to examine ourselves.

In summary, the Lord has given us a recipe for answered prayer. And it cannot be duplicated falsely or counterfeited because it has to do with your heart. And we even don’t really know our own hearts. Jeremiah wrote,  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) It’s astounding that although we think we know our deepest self, we cannot know our heart. And that is what the Lord is looking at. This is why we must give our life to Jesus. Only the Lord can give us a new heart that has God’s nature. And this is an important ingredient in getting answered prayer because a heart with God’s nature will only want what God wants for us. Yes, there are necessary essentials that we might need such as food, shelter and clothing. Those the Lord will provide for us and sometimes miraculously in instances of extreme need through jobs and benevolence. But our petitions should be full of thankfulness for what the Lord has provided already materially, physically, spiritually and in our minds, will and emotions. They are gifts that must be opened up, received and given thanks for. For unexpected and unforeseen needs and emergencies, there is also provision. Did you find that provision in the Bible? When we find those hidden gifts, we should be sure to take them, thank God for them and place it in our heart for that time you might need them.

Let us pray:

Father God, You are a good Father giving blessings and provision for every need. These gifts are for the taking in any need. Open my eyes to see that there is a storehouse filled and ready for my provision, whatever it may be, whether physical, mental or spiritual. I thank You Lord. As Your child, I walk in every provision. I can say with David, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...” I thank You Lord that You give abundantly. You are not sparing with what You have for me. Help me Lord in times of need to turn to You, Jehovah Jireh, the Provider of whatever I may need. I don’t have to be anxious or be overwhelmed. I just need to rely on You. Help me to do my part, whatever You show me to do and I know that You will provide. Help me Lord to be as generous as You are generous and to give abundantly to those that have a need. Thank You Lord that I can hear Your voice through the Holy Spirit and give as You want from my abundance. Help me to obey and to give You all the glory. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.