Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:7
Ask! Just ask! Your Heavenly Father invites you. Jesus implores you. The Scriptures direct you. The Holy Spirit will help you. So, ask.
In Matthew’s Gospel we read, “Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open.” The words of Jesus encourage diligence in our asking. Of course, it is divinely presumed in our Lord’s words that one will ask from a pure heart, directed by his or her love for the Lord and His purposes. And in this, Jesus promised that our asking (seeking and knocking) will yield our Lord’s desired results.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said, “therefore, whatever you ask for in prayer,” indicating from the context those interests of our Lord’s Kingdom. The “mountains moved” (cited from Mark 11:23), represented those obstacles that once stood in the way of the work of the kingdom but were miraculously removed (even as the apostles later witnessed first-hand).[1] And, as we ask accordingly in our faith, we can be assured of our Lord’s response.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus instructed, “if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will.” The attention to one’s relationship with Jesus and His Word indelibly scribed upon the human heart assures that the asking is harmonized with a pure desire for God’s will. If by communion and the study of the Word we abide in Christ, our prayers will be of such a nature that they will be in full accord with His divine counsel, for they will be prayers tending toward fruitfulness.[2] In this, our Lord most assuredly will respond.
So, this I know – when asking with the right heart there will always be a divine response. This I do not know – how that response will become evident to you. But, without a doubt, when asked in the right way, your “asking” will never be in vain. This, our Lord and Savior has most assuredly promised. So, ask!
But we must ask according to the direction God has given. And, there are three specific reminders for our asking rightly.
First, we must not expect to receive that which it is wrong for the child of God to desire. James 4:3 instructs, “you ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives (your lust or envy– James 4:2), so that you may spend it on your pleasures (your own agenda and will).”
Second, we must not expect to receive that which is counter to the good God is presentlyaccomplishing. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, Paul prayed for the removal of a “thorn in the flesh.” He made three specific supplications. But, the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you in this need, for power is perfected in weakness.” Paul realized that God intended something good, and it would be unwise to pray against that which God was accomplishing.
Third, we must not pray without prioritizing the ultimate will of God. In I John 5:14, we are reminded that we can “have confidence in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” Jesus gave the highest example of this in His holy and sacred submission that has won the ultimate victory: “Father if you are willing, take this cup from me: yet, not my will but yours be done (Luke 22:42).
We must always ask in full remembrance of the relationship God has given us with Himself through His Son. And, this is why Jesus’ model prayer begins with, “Our Father.”
So, today, ask. God has invited us. Jesus has implored us. The Holy Scriptures have directed us. And, the Holy Spirit will help us – in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us (Romans 8:26).
In this present moment, ask of God. Trust Him. And rest in the response God brings you, whatever that response may be. For that will indeed be the very best thing you could ever hope for or imagine.
Blessings.
[1] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible: The Gospel of Mark.
[2] McGarvey and Pendleton “Harmon of the Four Gospels.”
