Simply Ask

In the gospels, Jesus mentions several time to "ask." For instance, "Ask, and it will be given to you..." (Matthew 7:7)..."And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14:13-14) The term "ask" has many definitions. One which is, "to demand something due." This is not putting a demand on the Lord to do something, but to release the manifestation of what is already available to believers. It is like going to the bank where you have deposited five hundred dollars in an account. You fill out a withdraw slip for two hundred dollars. What you are doing is making a demand to receive what is already yours. When Jesus says to "ask" He means to ask. But there are specific ways that believers are to ask in order to see the manifestation of the thing asked.

The name of Jesus carries with it the power to release and manifest our request to the Father. Jesus tells us, "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:23-24) Jesus stands between us and the Father doing His work as our Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Lord. There is no place in scripture that Jesus tells us to pray to Him; For Jesus sake; or simply ask the Father. He tells us to pray to the Father in His Name. There is also an overflowing joy in knowing that the Father will answer our prayer when asked in Jesus' Name. 

When we ask of the Lord, we need to be specific. The Apostle James tells us, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James 1:5-8) Although James is targeting a request for wisdom, the principle of being specific still applies. It would be better to pray for two or three minutes and know what we are praying about than to pray aimlessly for two or three hours.

Speak God's Word that promises the answer that we need. In the above scripture, James says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God..." So, if one lacks wisdom then being specific in our asking would naturally be to ask the Lord for wisdom. The Apostle Paul states, "But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God..." (1 Corinthians 1:30) This would be a good scripture to speak concerning receiving wisdom. The believer is in Christ, therefore, they have the wisdom of God. To make a demand on something due would be something like this, "Father I thank you that I am in Christ and have Your wisdom dwelling within me." Because Christ is our wisdom, the believer is in essence agreeing that His wisdom has already been given and they are believing for the manifestation of such. Again, we are not demanding the Lord to do something, only receiving what is already ours by making a demand on its manifestation.

When asking, we must "ask in faith." To understand this better, we need to realize that there are two kinds of faith; sense-knowledge faith and and revelation faith. Sense knowledge faith is also what can be deemed "natural faith." Every person whether a believer or not has this kind of faith. It believes only what the five senses are capable of understanding. However, this is not true Bible faith. Although all the apostles doubted the resurrection (Mark 16:13-14) we see sense knowledge faith exhibited in the life of the Apostle Thomas when told that Jesus was raised from the dead. He says, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger (touch) into the print of the nails, and put my hand (touch) into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)

Revelation faith transcends the five senses. In Matthew 16 Jesus asks His disciple who people say He is. But when He asks, "who do you say that I am" Peter responds, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Notice, "Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 16:16-17) Peter had received a revelation from the Father and responded by making a faith confession on that revelation. As we see, it was not upon any of Peter's five senses that he confessed Jesus as the Son of God, but upon the revelation from the Father. The wonderful doctrines that we have in the Pauline Epistles are ours due to the revelation given to the Apostle Paul, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations..." (2 Corinthians 12:7) 

James continues, "with no doubting." Believers must not only ask in faith but we must resist doubt. A situation that reveals this takes place after the transfiguration of Jesus, "Jesus led Peter, James, and John his brother, up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them." (Matthew 17:1-2) When they had come down from the mountain they found the other nine disciple having difficulty casting a demon out of a boy. Keep in mind that all the disciples had previously been commissioned to, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,  cast out demons." (Matthew 10:8) However, nine of them could not cast the demon out of a boy. "Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, "because of your unbelief..."  (Matthew 17:17-20) Unbelief, doubt, will always neutralize faith and render it ineffective.

Another situation that deals with doubt neutralizing faith is revealed in Jesus walking on the water to meet the disciple who were in a boat being tossed about by a storm in the middle of the sea. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, supposed it to be a ghost and were afraid. Jesus reassures them that it was He, then Peter says, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:22-29) Notice, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water. In other words at this point Peter was exercising faith above his senses. Now notice what happens next, "And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him..." Now take careful note to what Jesus says to Peter (us), “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased." (Matthew 14:31-32)

Although Peter started this miraculous adventure with revelation faith, he allowed his senses to dictate the circumstance and immediately doubt neutralized his faith. Often, believers "ask" with genuine revelation faith, but like Peter, allow their senses to neutralize their faith, which causes the thing in which they had asked not to manifest. Notice, that Jesus did not tell Peter that he did not have any faith, but that doubt was the reason why his faith failed. This certainly is not to discourage us, but to encourage us to "hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23) 

After we have asked in faith, with no doubting, now we are to believe that we have received what we have asked for. Keep in mind, if what we have asked for is a promise of God, such as asking for wisdom shown in the example above, then it is actually already ours. Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24) In other words, as previously stated, resist doubt no matter what the circumstances may dictate and as Jesus tells us, "believe that you receive them." 

Finally, when we ask, let us thank the Lord for the answer although it may not have manifested yet. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6) "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) For some, these things may be a difficult task. However, let us always keep in mind that God desires to give to His children. Jesus tells us, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11) The Apostle Paul tells us, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)

So, when we ask, ask the Father in the Name of Jesus; be specific; Speak God's Word that promise the answer to that which is needed; Ask in faith; Do not doubt; Believe that we have received what we have asked for; give the Lord thanks and keep in mind that the devil wants to discourage you in any way that he can, through lies and deception. Jesus tells us that "...there is no truth in the devil. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44) But also keep in mind, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) The fact is, He will do it and He will make it good!!!