Our savior expressed something wonderful: ask and it will be given to you, but what was he referring to when pronouncing this? Could it be that everything we ask for, good or bad, will be granted no matter how much damage it does to us? What are the factors that must be taken into account so that the prayer can be answered satisfactorily? Here we answer those questions.
What did Jesus mean when he told us to ask and it will be given to us?
Matthew 7 is part of what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. It is a description of the truly righteous life, a description of “the law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21, NIV.). When Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you,” a continuous prayer is seen (Matthew 7:7).
Prayer is the way to communicate our needs and desires to God. Of course, God, being all-knowing, knows what Christians need, whether they ask or not, but prayer is God’s chosen means of achieving those answers (James 4:2).
Jesus did not mean that believers always get what they ask for; wrong motives, for example, will make answers to prayer difficult (James 4:3). However, the more time a Christian spends in communion with God, the more he will know what to ask for according to God’s will.
Prayer, by itself, does not produce sanctification (increasing holiness in the life of a believer), but it shows a dependence on God for needs that cannot be met in any other way.
God is always pleased with such displays of faith. It is faith alone that God relies on to do things, and what Christ has done, is what produces true sanctification, not artificial self-righteousness (Hebrews 11:6).
seek and you shall find
Jesus then said: “Seek and you shall find“(Matthew 7:7) What should believers be looking for? It is God himself! “Seek my face” (Psalms 27:8). “Seek the Lord and his strength; Seek his presence continually!” (Psalms 105:4). “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, and seek him with all their hearts” (Psalm 119:2).
God is not hiding from his children. His heart’s desire is that we persistently and passionately seek Him, and when we do, He promises that we will find Him (Proverbs 8:17). Seeking is a matter of paying attention with an engaged mind and keen awareness.
Knock and it will be opened to you
Then Jesus said: “Knock and the door will be opened for you” (Matthew 7:7c). Here, the Lord uses a metaphor for the action that produces a desire. If a person needs something from someone behind a door, the most natural thing to do is to knock, and keep knocking until the door is opened and the wish is fulfilled. Similarly, a believer should pray in faith for God’s provision and be persistent in prayer (Luke 18:1).
Ask, search, touch. Notice the three different senses that are considered here. Asking is verbal; Christians are to use their mouths and ask God for their needs and wants. These must search with their minds, this is more than asking, it is a set of priorities and a focus of the heart.
Hitting involves a physical movement, one in which the person takes action. Although asking and seeking are of great importance, they would be incomplete without touching. The Apostle John said that Christians should not love only with words, but also with deeds (1 John 3:18).
In the same way, it is good to pray and , but if one does not act in a way pleasing to God, everything is in vain. It is no coincidence that Jesus said that believers should love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27). God delights in the prayer of faith, and promises to give us what we need.
How should we ask God to grant it to us?
Many times our prayers are not answered, and we complain that God is far from us, and sometimes we can even question what is written in the scriptures. Jesus says: “ask and it will be given to you”, but how are we asking? How? Could it be that our requests come with a fragrant smell before God?
I am sure that very rarely do we ask ourselves these questions before judging what God does or does not do for us. As I said earlier, our Lord already knows what we need, but there are some things He wants us to do to fulfill our requests. Here are some tips for a prayer to be effective, and you can get answers:
1. Praise God.
The towards God are very important in a prayer, since through this you can let him know that He is your only lord, and that there is nothing like it in the world. God knows that he is almighty, and that he can grant everything you ask of him, but he likes that you are the one to tell him. That you express with your heart how big and wonderful it is for you.
2. Ask God for forgiveness.
We know that we are sinning all the time, no matter how hard we try, the stain of sin is always in us, and it is for this reason that there had to be a sacrifice for our redemption. But it is necessary that God see that repentance in us, and hear it not only from our mouths but from our hearts.
3. Humble yourself before the Creator.
God says in his word that he does not reject a heart that is saddened and humiliated. Our Lord can do everything, He knows all your needs before you tell him. However, he needs you to address him with prayer and request. He wants you to leave your burdens on Him, because He gave us free will, so much so that to forgive ourselves we have to ask Him.
4. Accept the will of the Father.
Many times we want things that God does not agree with, and that is why our requests are never granted. But why doesn’t God agree? Our creator knows what we need, we know only what we want. A father will never give a knife to his month-old baby.
We must learn to decipher what is God’s for our lives, because outside of that there will be nothing that will do us good, and if in our request there is nothing that is of benefit to us, God will not grant anything we ask for So let’s throw a tantrum.
5. Ask in faith.
Faith is essential for the requests made to God to be fulfilled. This is a condition for everything we ask for to be granted. God says in his word that if we have faith, even a small faith, everything we command will be done.
In addition, our lord needs us to show him that we have trust in him. He acts when we show that we need him, and that without him we can do nothing. It is necessary that we trust, and that we learn that he can give us wonderful results.
6. Make your request in the name of Jesus.
We know that by ourselves we will never be worthy of heading towards the Father, that only through his beloved son can we be holy and reach the presence of God. The sacrifice of Christ has given us the right to be children of God. For this reason, it is very important that requests be made in the name of Jesus.
Example of request to God
Below I show you an example of how the petitions to our Lord should be, here all the steps that were previously explained are applied:
- Lord I praise you, and I adore you, you are wonderful, there is nothing, existing or non-existent, that can match your power. I know that you are the only one who can comfort my life, and fulfill the desires of my heart.
- Father, I ask your forgiveness for all the things I have done against you, or against a brother, because I know that if I have sinned against them, I did it against you.
- Lord, I know that I am not worthy, that you let me enter your presence, but I humble myself before you, and I place at your mercy my requests for (…).
- My God, You know the desires of my heart, what I am asking of you at this moment, but you also know what I really need, and I will resignedly accept what You have for me.
- Lord, I have faith in you. I am sure that your power transcends borders, and I place my trust in you, thinking that this request is in the right hands.
- In the name of Jesus, amen.
Note: prayer should not be something synchronized, but an action that really comes from the heart. These have only been tips on how a request should be correctly. However, God greatly values the fact that you address Him with sincerity and reverence.
Ask and it will be given to you, was a word that Jesus expressed, and when pronouncing it, he was referring to the fact that prayer is fundamental so that requests can be granted. There are several factors to take into account when praying, and the most important are faith, trust in God, and the sacrifice of Christ that gives us the entrance to be with the Father.