Asking and Receiving
By: Abraham Raymond Eli
Tags: Answered Prayers, Christianity, Prayer, Asking And Receiving, Gods Promises

God promises to answer prayers

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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7–8, NKJV)

The above verses of scripture tell us unequivocally that God will answer our prayers. He said that all you need to do is ask, and you will be given! Also, God said elsewhere in the Bible:

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV)

God promises to reveal things to us if we but ask. In other words, God says, “Instead of going to consult with soothsayers and the like; ask Me and I will reveal things to you.”

Yet, there are Christians whose prayers go unanswered

Despite the promises of God to answer prayers, some Christians’ prayers are not answered. Some cannot confidently say that God answered their prayers. The lack of answers to prayers breeds frustration among Christians, so much so that many no longer pray.

When you ask a Christian who is seeking someone to marry if they have prayed about the matter, they would answer, “I’m tired of praying and getting no answer. I am no longer praying! After all, God gave us brains and a mind to use in getting what we want!”

An answer like this betrays the frustration of unanswered prayers. Again, if you ask another Christian if they have presented their business proposal to God, and they reply, “I am not hearing from God. I’ll just run with it!,” you know that that individual is frustrated by unanswered prayers.

What happens when prayers are not answered

For people who profess faith in God through Jesus Christ, there is so much frustration resulting from unanswered prayers. A cantankerous attitude usually results from frustration, envy, jealousy, covetousness, etc., arising from unanswered prayers. This results in a loss of the joy of prayer and a lacklustre prayer life.

The Lord Jesus said:

Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24, NKJV)

When prayers are unanswered, the joy of the believer evaporates. Indeed, many Christians are joyless because they have not received answers to their requests from God.

From time to time we encounter sorrowful, murmuring, complaining, grumbling, and envious Christians, all because their prayers are unanswered. The Bible says:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12, NKJV)

Unanswered prayers lead to sickness in the heart — not the organ that pumps blood, but the inner being, the spirit of man — which manifests outwardly as grief, sadness, depression, complaining, envy, etc. But when the desire is met — through answered prayer — the inner man is revived, there is a spring in their steps, and the ambience around them is pleasant.

Once, Nehemiah comforted and encouraged the Israelites to celebrate instead of being sad — a reflection of the value of joy — when he said:

. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad! (Nehemiah 8:10, LB)

When the Christian has joy, it is evidenced by their outward expression of confidence and hope on one hand, and their joyful and pleasant interactions with other people, on the other hand.

But some do not even ask

James, speaking by the Holy Spirit says:

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you? You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. (James 4:1–2, LB)

Through James, the Lord is telling us that our frustrations begin from a plethora of desires which we have not asked Him to meet.

Some Christians think that having a desire automatically translates to a met need. This is not true! Having a desire is one thing, asking for that desire to be met is a completely different thing. For some Christians, their desires become so strong, they are controlled by them and they get into foolish and inordinate schemes to harm others.

This, sadly, is not how a Christian should live. A Christian, having been saved by the grace of God, depends entirely on God. Therefore, a Christian always asks God for whatever they desire!

God wants you to ask

Some Christians also believe that since God already knows what we want before we ask (Matthew 6:8, 32), they don’t need to ask. They seem not to appreciate that although God knows what we need before we ask, He, nonetheless, wants us to ask!

You must not think that things happen just because you think of them — that is telepathy and it is ungodly and unChristian. God wants you to ask every day — Jesus taught us to pray:

Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11, NKJV)

Why? Because God wants you to develop the habit, attitude, or nature of asking Him for everything daily. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit says through Paul:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7, LB)

Therefore, do not give up but keep on asking (Luke 18:1) and in due season, God will give you an answer of peace.

Nothing is insignificant to ask from God

God wants you to ask Him for everything and anything — no matter how little or insignificant it may seem to you! The truth is, we don’t know what is significant and what is not, but God does. By deciding on what to ask and what not to ask from God, you are saying that you can handle some things on your own. But the truth is that you cannot handle anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant, because you are just not able to comprehend the ramifications, both now and in the future.

Many people have mortgaged their future and posterity by entering into seemingly innocuous deals.

When Israel entered the Promised Land and began conquering the nations therein, the Gibeonites approached them and lied that they were from a far country, seeking a covenant with them. Without consulting with God, Israel covenanted with the Gibeonites not to harm them (Joshua 9:3–15). A few days later they realized that the Gibeonites were dwelling in the Promised Land (Joshua 9:16) and they could not renege on their commitment to them — if only they had asked God.

Centuries later, King Saul attacked and killed some of the Gibeonites, thus breaching the covenant. Long after King Saul died, there arose a famine in Israel, and upon enquiring, God told them that the famine was His judgment for King Saul’s unprovoked assault against the Gibeonites. And although King Saul had died, his descendants paid the ultimate price, as the Gibeonites demanded that they hand them over to be hung (2 Samuel 21:1–9)!

So, nothing is too insignificant to ask God for!

You never can tell what your decision today holds both for you and your posterity tomorrow!

Be sure to ask from God

We must understand that God did not say that we should ask from family, friends, or colleagues.

He emphatically said that we should ask Him!

When we ask from family, friends and colleagues, and they are either unable to help or unwilling to assist, we are despondent and may get angry at them. But the Psalmist advises:

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret — it only causes harm. (Psalms 37:8, NKJV)

So, be sure to ask God! Unless God directs you to ask someone else.

Keep on asking

Keep on asking God for anything and everything until He gives you an answer. Don’t give up! We need to get back our joy and strength, and the sweetness of being a Christian when our prayers are answered. Be importunate in prayer and unrelenting in your faith and you shall receive answers to your prayers.

Some are asking but their prayers are not being answered

There are Christians who believe in God’s promise to answer prayers, yet they are not receiving answers to their prayers. Why is this so? Is God a liar?

True, some . . . were unfaithful, but just because they broke their promises to God, does that mean God will break his promises? Of course not! Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is not. Do you remember what the book of Psalms says about this? That God’s words will always prove true and right, no matter who questions them. (Romans 3:3–4, LB)

Indeed, the Bible tells us that God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19)! It is not in His nature to lie (Hebrews 6:18)!

So, why do we ask and not receive?

There are several reasons why our prayers may not be answered, but I’ll list just a few below. It is hoped that this brief list will trigger in you the necessary actions needed to achieve the fullness of joy promised in scripture as a result of answers to our prayers.

1. There is a set time for everything, and possibly, the time God has set to answer your prayer has not yet come (Genesis 21:1–2; Psalm 102:13). So, patiently wait.

2. You may be asking amiss. The Bible tells us that when we ask and are not getting answers, we may be asking with wrong and selfish motives. (James 4:3).

3. You may have set your mind on something and just want God to rubberstamp it. When you take such a position you will only get the answer in your mind! Therefore, never approach God with deception in your heart. (Ezekiel 14:1–11)

4. You are not asking in faith. Without faith, we cannot obtain anything from God (James 1:5–6).

5. You are asking, doubting. The Bible says that a doubter or double-minded man cannot receive anything from God (James 1:6–8)!

6. There may be unconfessed sin in your life. Sin isolates you and your requests from God (Isaiah 59:1–2). When you confess your sins, fellowship is restored as are answers to your prayers.

7. For husbands, you may be treating your wife contrary to God’s command (1 Peter 3:7).

8. You may have rebuffed God’s counsel to you. If you refuse God’s counsel, He will not hear your prayers (Proverbs 1:20–33)!

9. You may not have asked according to God’s will (1 John 5:14–15). To mitigate this, pray in the Spirit (Romans 8:26–27; 1 Corinthians 2:10–11).

10. You are not importunate in prayer. Continue to ask until God answers (Luke 18:1–8).

It is time to start getting answers to your prayers

It is my prayer that as you review the brief list above, the Lord will help you deal with the issues you need to deal with so that you can begin to enjoy unfettered access to God and answers to all your prayers.

But bear in mind that answers to your prayers do not always mean that you will get what you want. It simply means that you will hear from God!

Shalom!