Ask, Receive and Give ThanksSample

Day 3 -  Often, we don’t receive because we don’t ask, or we ask wrongly 

REFERENCE VERSES:

James 4:3

3  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 

Mark 11:24-26

24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

25-26 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  

REFLECTIONS:

Read James 4:3 and Mark 11:24-26 and take a moment to answer the following questions: 

➤ What do these texts reveal to us about the way in which we ask?

➤ Why is it so important to forgive if we want our prayers to be answered? 

CONTENT:

The declaration above can seem a little simplistic and make us believe that there is a particular formula or method to having prayers answered, which is far from the case. On the other hand, there are fundamental principles that need to be respected in order to ensure that we live in the reality of what Jesus promises us: “I will do whatever you ask in my name . . . ” (cf. John 14:13). 

You have probably already heard the expression “You only have to ask” in circumstances where all you had to do was dare to ask. Personally, one of the things that I enjoy doing is negotiating prices, even when it involves official structures such as shops, hotel chains, etc. What I have discovered is that often, if we do it in a jovial and friendly way, we can get a discount. I remember buying a watch in an upmarket boutique. I received a discount because I dared to ask. There is a biblical principle that applies not only to prayer, but in all situations and that is, “Ask and you will receive…” (cf. John 16:24). With God, if there are things that we obtain without even having asked for them, then there are numerous other things that we will never receive if we don’t ask for them.

Never forget that God has already given us EVERYTHING, that EVERYTHING is available to us in the heavens because we have EVERYTHING fully in Christ (cf. Colossians 2:10). This means that if we are not living in the fullness of God’s kingdom in our lives here and now, it is because we still have adjustments to make in our life. And knowing how to ask is part of that! One day, we will find ourselves in eternity and we will know everything perfectly. Therefore we will see all of the things that God had put at our disposal and that we hadn’t dared to ask for, or even thought about asking Him for. I long for us to leave aside the least amount of things possible!

Maybe you have already been surprised by what you have found yourself praying for—for example something completely wacky or something that seemed difficult, even impossible. Generally it is the Holy Spirit that leads us to ask, to express to God what has already been prepared in advance for us. Knowing how to ask is simply being in agreement with God in regards to this abundant reserve that He has for us and that He wants to pour out through us. This is because receiving is to be engaged in giving so that we in turn do good. So let’s enter into His madness and let us not deny ourselves of everything that He wants to give to us.

Too many Christians have the tendency to complain about not having this or that, instead of living in happiness and praying with faith. This leads them to adopt an attitude of begging or negotiating in prayer. Or they are jealous of those who succeed and, instead of rejoicing in what other people are experiencing with God, they start to develop bitterness and feelings of resentment. There is a basic aspect to prayer: it’s the disposition of our heart. We don’t ask to benefit ourselves, but to glorify God and serve Him as best as possible.

Many Christians haven’t received, either because they haven’t dared to ask God, or because they didn’t know how to persevere without compromise until they saw the result! I like to say for example that God desires to heal all sick people, which He has already done (cf. 1 Peter 2:24) and there are no exceptions! Healing is one of the things we have acquired on the cross and wanting to leave it to one side opens up the door to all kinds of lies, including that God cannot forgive everything. I say this because if He doesn’t heal all sick people, how can He forgive all sin, even though forgiveness and full health have both been acquired on the cross? Furthermore, all of those who came to Jesus to be healed during His earthly ministry were healed, without exception. On the other hand, I can see that this is far from the case nowadays when we pray for sick people. However it is about believing what God says, and not what we can see, that leads us therefore to pray for sick people until they have been healed.

It is about praying and not giving up—according to what God says and not what we are living. And this is what James says when he talks about the fact that we don’t ask correctly. It is the case when we look to satisfy our passions first and foremost, or our motivations are not good. We need to learn that when our prayers are founded on the needs of the Kingdom, then sooner or later they will be answered.  Whereas if we pray for our own kingdom, for our own wellbeing with “me” as the motivation, then it is likely that the prayer will not be answered. Therefore always make sure your motivations are correct!

MY DECISION :

➤ What I have understood for my own personal life: 

➤ What I am deciding to do in my life based upon what I have just learnt: 

➤ What you decide to do today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow!

Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse..