Ask and ye shall receive! Why should we ask God with real faith if he is not inclined to reciprocate from time to time? As we maintain this thought we must not forget who is God; as he is omniscient, surely he has the right to discern which prayer are sincere and worthy of an answer, and he must also have the right and the wisdom to know how to answer them; and when.
Millions of prayers are being offered every day, both personal and public. Judging from my own prayers, and from all the prayers that I have heard, it’s probably not a bad guess to say that a majority of these prayers are ‘habitual’, ‘forced’ or ‘rushed’, ‘hurried’, and performed out of duty; not at all in the spirit of ‘ ask and ye shall receive ‘.
Don’t get me wrong; in the center of all these words there is a strong love for the Lord and his gospel, so I’m sure that God listens and takes it to heart. But being God – he knows that there should be more yearning for that which is good, and that we don’t ask God with enough faith, or spend the time that it takes to get close to him. Ask and ye shall receive requires – listening! How else could we receive?
The ‘successful prayers’ that reached the Lord and were answered… Thinking about all prayers I have uttered and witnessed, when we clearly did ask God with real faith, it is interesting to note that they were offered at times of desperation; at times where only interventions of God could fight of disasters!
Knowing that he is there, and that he will keep his promise; Ask and ye shall receive; when we lose control of – life, -health, -love, -money, -career and -family, we fall upon the ground, and ask God with real faith, with that fervor that carries our powerful words past the plaster, brick and mortar of ceilings and roofs.
But I’m not sure that God is well pleased with this. Perhaps he wants us to consider that we are always dependent on him for life and sustenance.
The world is in commotion, and people do need our prayers all the time. But surely, they need more than prayers of habit, hurry and duty. Good people need to enjoy the success that comes by working together with the unseen forces, and they will be loosed as we ask God with real faith. One might wonder how many people only reached mediocre results in various situations because their prayers were offered short of faith.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)
One reason why faith is dwindling is that people do not keep the Sabbath anymore. It is supposed to be ‘the Lord’s day’.
Talk to the Lord, determined not to cease talking to him until he reveals his will to you. And he will. Ask and ye shall receive!
The first thing that will happen is that you will become aware of your sins and shortcomings. As long as these feelings persist – no other feelings will reach your soul from God. So, what you must do is to take hold upon the feelings of guilt and act upon them; repent, repair your life, and the lives of those you have injured by your sinning.
Enter into a covenant with him to follow his commandments. This communication with God can go on for a while. You will gradually feel how you become more sincere in your heart, and when you are sufficiently purposeful before the Lord, then you will be filled with his will concerning you.
You probably ask yourself why I know so much about this. Well, I had to learn it or perish. I was at the point of no return where I needed to receive complete faith in the Lord – or cease to exist.
