Transcript ASK

ASK
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For
everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.
Introduction
• It is remarkable that the God who created the
universe with words, so high and mighty,
would not only speak to creatures He made in
His own image, but would invite us to speak to
Him, as well – especially so in that He invites
us to ask requests of Him.
ASK AS A QUALIFIED PETITIONER
• 1st Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,
and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the LORD is
against those who do evil”.
• Some people God is happy to hear from, but others He
deliberately ignores.
• Proverbs 28:9; “He who turns away his ear from listening to the
law even his prayer is an abomination”.
• Proverbs 15:8,9 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to
the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. The way of
the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who
pursues righteousness.”
• Those who don’t want to listen to God, He won’t listen to either.
• In fact, their prayers are abominable to Him.
ASK AS A QUALIFIED PETITIONER
• John 9:31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if
anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him”.
• There are qualifications, simple ones, which must be met in
order to be heard in prayer.
• Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not so short that it
cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But
your iniquities have made a separation between you and
your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so
that He does not hear”.
• It is not that God is unable to hear the prayers of all; it’s that
He won’t.
• The separation between God and the sinner is a choice of
the sinner to which the Almighty merely responds in like
fashion.
ASK AS A QUALIFIED PETITIONER
• 1st John 3:22 “and whatever we ask we receive from Him,
because we keep His commandments and do the things that
are pleasing in His sight”.
• Prayer is not a universal right, but a privilege of the obedient.
• Acts 10:4, “And fixing his gaze upon him and being much
alarmed he said, ‘what is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘your
prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God”.
• True, the prayers of Cornelius were heard by God before he
was saved in Christ, but prior to that he was as faithful to
God as any gentile could be when the Jews were the chosen
nation.
• At most, this example suggests unsaved persons who are
sincerely seeking God will be heard in that request.
ASK ACCORDING TO HIS WILL
• 1st John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence which we have
before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He
hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we
ask, we know that we have the requests which we have
asked from Him”.
• God will hear what we ask only if we ask in accordance with
His will.
• Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell
on His face and prayed, saying ‘My Father, if it is possible, let
this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as thou wilt”.
• Even the Son of God qualified His requests with “Your will be
done”.
ASK ACCORDING TO HIS WILL
• James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on
your pleasures”.
• Asking in prayer to win a gambling jackpot, or for a
sinful sexual relationship to be spared from breakup, or
any other wicked request will surely be disregarded by
God.
• Luke 6:46 “And why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do
not do what I say?”
• It is wildly inconsistent to call Jesus “Lord”, but disobey
Him.
ASK IN THE NAME OF CHRIST
• John 14:13-14 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I
do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me
anything in My name, I will do it”
• John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and
appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that
your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father
in My name, He may give to you”.
• John 16:23-24 “And in that day you will ask me no question.
Truly, truly, I say to you if you shall ask the Father for
anything, He will give it to you in My name. Until now you
have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive,
that your joy may be made full”.
• Jesus taught the disciples not to pray to Him, but to pray to
the Father through Him.
ASK IN THE NAME OF CHRIST
• Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father
• Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all
in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks through Him to
God the Father”.
• The apostles taught the same.
• Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the
whole world”.
• Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord! …”
• Paul practiced what He preached.
ASK IN THE NAME OF CHRIST
• 1st Timothy 2:5; “For there is one God, and one
mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus”.
• Hebrews 7:25 “Hence, also, He is able to save
forever those who draw near to God through
Him, since He always lives to make intercession
for them”.
• Because Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor it
fits that prayers to the Father go through Him.
ASK IN FAITH
• James 1:6-8 “but let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the
one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything
from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his
ways”.
• It is futile to make request of God, doubting all the while whether
He can perform what we ask.
• Matthew 21:21-22 “And Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I
say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only
do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this
mountain, be taken up and cast into the sea, it shall happen. And
all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive”.
• Praying in faith can move mountains.
• Of course, we must trust it would serve God’s purpose to do so.
ASK IN FAITH
• James 5:16b-18 “…the effective prayer of a righteous man
can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like
ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it
did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And
he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth
produced its fruit”.
• Although Elijah was a mighty prophet, he is described as
having “a nature like ours”, meaning that the drought was the
result, not of a miracle, but of prayer.
• 1st Timothy 2:8 “Therefore I want the men in every place to
pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension”.
• Petitions to God must be free of all doubt.
• Trust Him.
ASK SPECIFICALLY
• Luke 11:11-12 “Now suppose one of you fathers
is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him
a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked
for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will
he?”
• Notice in Jesus’ metaphor that the son never told
the father he was hungry; rather, he specifically
asked for bread, then fish, then an egg.
• Likewise, our prayers ought to avoid generalities.
ASK SPECIFICALLY
• If the names of those who are sick and their ailments
are announced, then that’s who we should pray for
and the reason why we pray.
• If the names of those traveling are announced along
with where they’re going and for how long, then that’s
who we pray for and the reason why we pray.
• James 5:17
• Elijah was specific in his very effective prayer.
• James 5:14 “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the
elders of the church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord”.
• Our prayers for the sick ought to be detailed.
ASK SPECIFICALLY
• Acts 8:22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and
pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart
may be forgiven you”.
• Our prayers for the wayward ought to be detailed.
• Romans 8:26-28 “And in the same way the Spirit also helps
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we
should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the
hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And
we know that God causes all things to work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose”.
ASK SPECIFICALLY
• True, the Holy Spirit helps us when we have
trouble figuring out what to say.
• That doesn’t mean we keep it generic and let
the Spirit do the rest.
• It means we let the Spirit help – we keep
praying until we figure out how best to put it.
ASK GRATEFULLY
• Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God which surpasses all
comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus”.
• All requests should be couched in terms of gratitude.
• If we’re not thankful for what God already blessed us
with, why would we ask for more and why would He
comply with those petitions?
ASK GRATEFULLY
• 1st Thessalonians 5:17-18 “Pray without ceasing; in everything
give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”.
• Giving thanks in everything means doing so even when things
seem lousy because we may not yet recognize hidden blessings.
• Acts 16:25 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening
to them”.
• Imprisoned harshly for proclaiming the gospel, Paul and Silas
found it in their hearts not only to pray, presumably for relief, but
also to sing hymns – not the blues, hymns, which are songs of
praise.
• Thankfulness filled them even in the dungeon.
Conclusion
• The majority of our prayers are “ask” prayers.
• We pray for others, but mostly asking God to
bless them.
• We pray for our needs by asking God to provide.
• We pray for health and so many other things.
• Nothing wrong by asking.
• Just have to remember that we must ask properly
as we have discussed in this lesson.