Ask, Believe, and Receive
Mark 11:
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ’Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
The Bible tells us that without faith we cannot please God. It is out of faith in God that we are able to ask confidently and know our prayers will be answered. It is vital that we as Christians understand the importance of praying in faith and equally so to understand just what it means to pray in faith. This passage above is frequently quoted but seldom understood. Verse 24 is often used out of context to teach a well intentioned but false promise that Jesus guarantees that we will have everything that we ask. If we look at this in context we see that the intended focus is to accomplish a purpose. We are promised that we can move mountains, “therefore believe you receive them and you will have them”.
The promises of God have been turned into a ‘selfish gospel’ rather than a kingdom focused life. As we shall soon see, there are very clear examples given in scripture that reveal the promises of God and how these fit into our Christian walk. As followers of Christ, we can walk in absolute confidence in God and know our prayers are making an impact according to God’s design. Lets first look at the purpose and focus of our prayers.
Ask according to His purposes
1 John 5:
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
This passage offers a crucial piece of information so that we understand the motivations behind our prayers. Most Christians are taught to ask according to their own purposes, but the Bible teaches that we are to ask according to God’s will, not our will. Scripture teaches that if we desire to follow Christ, we must die to ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. The promises of God are only to the followers of Christ. If we are not following Jesus Christ but are following our worldly desires, this promise does not apply. We will look into this a bit farther in this message, but it is important to understand now that we must be following His commandments so that we can bring glory to God. John 14 illustrates this:
13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
15 " If you love Me, keep My commandments.
What is the purpose of receiving what we ask? It is to glorify the Father through the Son who answers our requests. So we don’t get off target, Jesus stressed the importance of loving Him through keeping His commandments. When we present our requests to God, it is necessary to understand that we are not seeking our own kingdom, but God’s kingdom. No where is this illustrated better than this passage in 2 Chronicles 1:
11 And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life -- but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king --
12 "wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."
This passage began when God revealed Himself to Solomon and promised to grant him what he asked. God tested Solomon to reveal what was in his heart. Solomon had just become king over Israel and he understood that he was placed there by God’s hand to lead Israel in the ways of God. Solomon’s test was to seek his own will or to seek the will of God. Solomon asked only for what he needed to accomplish the purpose God had called him to do. If Solomon had been so short sighted that he only sought his own greed, he would only have received a temporary pleasure and would have struggled or even failed in his calling. Solomon did not have to ask God for pleasures, wealth, or anything self-centered. It was God’s desire to bless Solomon, but the most important thing was for Solomon to seek God’s kingdom first.
God does not change. The same is true for your life today. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you”. How have we gotten so far off course in our view of asking? We now view asking as seeking first all the things that we want and God’s kingdom becomes a second, third or fourth priority. You do not have to ask for pleasures or possessions. I firmly believe that if you ask for God’s kingdom, God will fulfill your desires as well. We are in a love relationship with God. The Bible teaches us that ‘love does not seek its own’. We seek God’s kingdom and God seeks to fulfill our lives.
If I am fulfilling my calling and seeking God’s kingdom, His righteousness, and to fulfill His purpose in my life, I will never have to seek my own will. The example God has provided clearly states, “Because you have not asked for wealth…because you have not asked for long life…because you have not asked for yourself”. God honors our request to answer His call and He adds to us benefits that we enjoy and would not even think to ask. The promise that Jesus gave in the New Testament was lived out in the lives of the saints in the Old Testament as an example to us.
Asking with the right motives
Matthew 18:
18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
The motivation behind our prayers is to touch things in this life for the purpose of eternity. Once again this is often quoted as a promise to fulfill selfish prayers, but in reality it is a promise to touch things in this life for the purpose of God’s eternal kingdom. This promise that God will answer the prayer of two who agree is to those seeking God’s ways and God’s righteousness. Jesus gave the model of our prayer in Matthew 6:
8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
9 "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
I have to ask again, where is my will found in this prayer guideline Jesus gave to us? Jesus began by explaining that we should not be like the world but know that God already knows our needs. Our prayer is to be God-focused; hallowed be Your name. This means to honor God’s name and separate His name from profane things. His name is to be consecrated to God alone. Once we express our honor to His name, we seek His kingdom and His will to be accomplished on earth. We then acknowledge our need for His provision and our need for His daily forgiveness. Along with seeking forgiveness, we are required to forgive others. If I harbor unforgiveness against someone I am also declaring that I don’t acknowledge my great debt to God. Jesus followed this prayer by saying that if you don’t forgive others, God will not forgive you. We then are to acknowledge our need for God to lead us away from temptation and protect us from the schemes of the devil. If God did not keep us close to His presence, we would all fall into sin. It is His Spirit alone that works in our hearts to keep us pure. Finally we acknowledge that all things, all power and all glory belong to God.
Where is the biblical example that I am to ask for a nice car, big house, more money or all the things we want in this life? Does God provide those things? Often times He does, however, if you are not able to say, “God what I have belongs to You and You have a right to take them” and really mean it, then it is not a blessing but a distraction. These examples of those blessed did not seek the blessings of God. Abraham left all he had behind to follow God. Abraham did not ask for wealth yet God gave it to him. In fact, Abraham allowed his brother to take the best of the land while he followed God. Lot sought wealth and ended up with nothing; Abraham gave up wealth, sought God and ended up with everything.
Joseph did not seek his will and did not get angry or bitter toward God when he ended up as a slave and then as a prisoner for a crime he did not commit. He honored God and suffered for it. Yet in the end, He was 2nd ruler in Egypt and had all the wealth anyone could desire. King David did not seek the kingdom or possessions. He was a man after God’s own heart. He only wanted God and to honor God’s commandments. He was the greatest King in Israel’s history. Job lost everything yet declared his unwavering faith in God’s holy plan. God blessed him with great honor and wealth.
I used examples of those who received wealth, however not everyone who honored God was wealthy, but everyone who honored God was satisfied. The point we should understand is that if we are seeking God’s plan, it will not matter if we have great wealth or perfect health. We will be content with what we have and we have already received the promise of our eternal inheritance. Our focus is not on what we can gain, but on accomplishing our purpose in God’s perfect plan. Our prayer concerning ourselves should be, “Give us what we need in order to accomplish Your will”. If God gives us above that, we can be grateful. If God delays until the life to come, we should be even more grateful because the reward that lies ahead is eternal and not for this life only.
Asking with the wrong motives
Look now at James 4:
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
We can see from the scriptures that not everything we ask will be granted. Our purpose in this life is not to fill ourselves with pleasure. If we ask with the wrong motives, we nullify the promise because we have stepped outside of God’s will. All of God’s promises are found within His will. If our love is in the world, we cannot love God. The Bible states, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Jesus also made this point when He said that we cannot have two masters. You cannot love God and love wealth. Keep in mind that money is not the root of evil but it is the love of money that roots evil. You will follow the one you love. You will seek the one you love. If you want to see if you love God, examine your own life. Are you seeking God, seeking His kingdom and keeping His commandments? If you are seeking and following wealth, that is your love. Wealth can be a blessing or a curse. It can only be a blessing if we lay it down and acknowledge that it belongs to God and not ourselves and its purpose is to be used for His plan. If we have to protect wealth or seek it, it is a curse and is outside of God’s design.
Most of us have heard preachers describe how to claim our blessings from God. However, as we can see, scripture never teaches us to seek what is in God’s hand, but rather we are called to seek God. Scripture instructs us not to ask for things to spend on our pleasures. God will seek those things on our behalf. We are seekers of God. Faith is believing God and trusting in His plan. God said that He will bless me when I keep His commandments. I believe this, therefore I ask for the right heart, right focus and the ability to keep His commandments. It is because of faith that I can trust God to fulfill my desires, therefore I can put my focus outside of myself and on His kingdom.
Seeking God’s Plan
When we enter God’s kingdom, we lay down our lives and take up the new creation God has offered us. In the past, our focus was only on ‘what’s in it for me’? Now that we have a new life in Christ, our focus is on eternity and God’s kingdom. The apostle Paul said it well when he stated, “I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish”. Why seek the rubbish of this life knowing that it will one day be worthless and pass away?
When we view our life in light of God’s plan for us, our perspective will be much clearer. My only goal is to accomplish God’s perfect will before I leave this world. If I own everything and have not accomplished my purpose, it means nothing. If I am penniless but have accomplished God’s will, I have everything and the promise of a great inheritance. You will never find true self-worth until you view yourself as a part of God’s perfect plan. When I realize that everything I possess fits into God’s plan and the mission He has given me, the amount I have been entrusted with is secondary to my desire to fulfill God’s plan. The Bible says, that God has fashioned my days for me before I was even born (Psalm 139). God already has this life planned out. I don’t need to ask God to make a plan that will make me happy, I need to ask God to lead me into the perfect plan already fashioned for me. This should be the focus of my prayers. I need to decrease my will and allow God to lead me where I need to go. Instead of asking God to bless what I am doing, I ask God to lead me where He is already blessing. Look at the passage we may all be familiar with, Romans 8:
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
This also is often misquoted. All things work together for the good of those who love God AND are called according to His purposes. If you are not following the purposes of God, all things do not work as we expect. God has fashioned your life and all the events of your life to lead you into His purpose and to accomplish His purpose in your life. If you are unwilling to follow the call of God, all the prayers of ‘faith’ are meaningless. In fact, it is not faith at all if you are not following Christ. Faith is believing God. If you do not trust God enough to follow His plan, you are not walking by faith. Faith in your prayer is meaningless; faith in God is the only true faith.
God’s plan is already established. God laid out the plan for your life before you were formed in the womb (Psalm 139). God does not change and His ways are perfect. God sees the end from the beginning and already knows everything you will do and everything you will encounter. Because He does not change, you are faced with the decision to walk according to His purpose for your life or according to your own purposes. People can pray and believe in their prayer all they want, but if you are not asking according to His will, it is your will against God’s will. It is the height of arrogance to demand that God follow your will and to dispute His choice. You can’t see even one second into the future, therefore how can we dispute the will of our God who has already seen the future and is in total control of it? The only reason the Christian life does not work in many people’s lives is because they are trying to pull God into their will. We follow God when He goes where we want to go, but then sit and pout when God does not. People are disappointed with God because they seek fulfillment outside of God’s plan.
Every time scripture teaches the believer to ask, it is for our basic needs or to ask for the things that fulfill God’s will in our life. None of these promises even suggest that we ask for possessions or self-centered motives. We must remember that we are in a love relationship with our God. Love does not seek its own, therefore if we are looking at God as a resource for our pleasure, it is not love. God gives to us. He laid down His life and paid the penalty of our sins for us and offers this as a free gift. God provides us with food, clothing and life and He gives everything to His creation and that without thanks or gratitude. There is no question that God loves us and daily expresses self-less love toward us. If this is a true love relationship, we should be expressing our love to Him. We give the only thing that we can give – our humble submission to Him. We love God by laying down our life willingly and give ourselves back to Him.
Look at the promises of God – He promises everything to us. Some struggle with the idea that God’s will could be man-focused. Some go so far to say that we are irrelevant and that God’s pleasure is the only thing that matters. This is not what God has shown us in the scriptures. God is very man focused – in fact, we are the primary focus of God. The Bible calls us the apple of God’s eye. We just read the passage that states that all things work together for the good of those who love God. When Jesus healed the man possessed, He said, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
The Bible is filled with promises for those who love God. Hundreds of times God reiterates the benefits and rewards both in this life and our eternal inheritance. All of this is to prove to us that God does indeed love us and continuously expresses His love toward us. Since we know that God is seeking our good, we are then freed from our self-centered world view and can then put our focus on expressing our love toward God. Almost always God gives a command with a promise. We don’t have to ask for the promise, God has already stated His desire to give us the promise. We need to ask God to work within us so that we can do His will and keep His commands.
God has expressed the depth of His love toward us so that we can have the confidence to die to ourselves and seek God’s will. We give ourselves to God knowing that He has given and continues to give of Himself to us. “God so loved the world that He gave…” Now the present question is, are you willing to love God and give? Set your heart on asking God to accomplish His plan in your life and rest in the confidence that God already has provided for your satisfaction. Seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness and He will prove His promises to you.
