Jesus' statement "Ask and you shall receive" occurs several times in
the Gospel accounts in various forms. It is a saying that has often been
misinterpreted by those who do not understand the verse in its context,
but rather assume that Jesus' meaning was "ask for anything you want
and I'll give it to you," a basic tenet of the prosperity gospel and
word of faith teaching.
Sadly, the faith of many has been shipwrecked on
the rocks of unanswered prayers that were prayed because of a belief in
the faulty assumption that "ask and you shall receive" is a blanket
promise with no conditions.
Perhaps the most famous instance of "ask and you shall receive" is found in Matthew 7:7-8
where Jesus tells His disciples during the Sermon on the Mount that, "whoever asks receives, whoever seeks finds, and to whomever knocks, the
door will be opened." We cannot gain a full understanding of Jesus'
meaning without reading the entire passage. Jesus goes on to say that
GOD will not fail to give His children good things. Luke 11:9-13
repeats this message, but replaces the words "good things" with "the
Holy Spirit." This means that GOD will give good gifts to His children,
and the best example of a good gift is the Holy Spirit. When combined
with John 14:14,
where Jesus tells His disciples that whatever they ask for "in His
name" will be done for them, we begin to see the two-fold purpose of
prayer - to give us deeper understanding of what GOD calls "good" and to
cultivate a desire in us for that which GOD calls good.
Our prayers to GOD are not unlike our requests of men. They are based in a relationship, just as Jesus points out in Matthew 7:8.
When we ask our earthly fathers for something they know will hurt us,
those things are denied. A child may be frustrated and unhappy when his
father denies his request for something bad, but he still trusts his
father. And when a request is for something that the father knows is
good for his child, he will provide it willingly and eagerly because he
loves his child. This relationship is further alluded to when Jesus
follows His promise in John 14:14
with verse 15: "If you love me, keep My commandments."
Loving Jesus,
obeying Him and praying according to His will are all a part of asking in
His name.
Many new believers have experienced a disappointment
about this reality, thinking, "But what if, what I want / need, is not in
GOD's will?" But when we think about it, this promise can never
disappoint us. First, if what we want is not in GOD's will, we really
don't want to receive it, because, though it mayseem to be what we
want, God knows it isn't good for us; and He is faithful and loving to say
"no" to that prayer. Second, inherent in the promise is the guarantee
that the things we truly need will always be given to us when we ask for
them. GOD will always give us good things. Our job is to understand
what is good, so that we know what to ask for.
The natural mind does not
understand this, but, according to Romans 12:1-2,
renewing our minds, which can only be done through His Word, will help
us understand what GOD's will is. Then, asking in faith, we will have
all we need for life and godliness and fullness of joy (John 16:24). This is not intuitive for us, but it teaches us humility, and it draws us near to GOD, who is the Source of our joy.
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