The problem with most Christians today is they are praying, yet they are not receiving. They talk to their Father in Heaven, yet they don’t receive. I wonder what they say, how they say it, and why they are not receiving. In Ephesians 1:3, the scripture tells us God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven realms, and they are in Christ. I met a pregnant lady with her husband one weekend at the mall. They were very excited about the shopping they had on the trolley. The shopping were the clothes for the unborn baby. At spot I remembered “LET US CREATE MAN IN OUR OWN IMAGE AND LIKENESS”. God created you in His image and likeness, and He placed all you would need on earth in Jesus before he allowed you into the womb. Though that child was still in the womb, and only God knew whether it was going to survive, those guys were buying what the child would need before it would be born. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven…”
He chose you in him before the creation of the world. You were blessed before you came to the womb, and those blessings were placed in Christ. God knows our needs but He wants us to ask in faith, and in the Name of Jesus. Most of us are not receiving because of what Jesus said in John 16:24. He said “Until now you have not asked for anything in my Name.”
My question is;
UNTIL NOW, HAVE YOU ASKED FOR ANYTHING IN HIS NAME?
Think about it.
HOW DO YOU ASK?
Surprisingly, believers today know how to complain to God. We behave like the disabled man at the pool of Bethesda, who when Jesus asked him a simple questio: Do you want to get well? Instead of answering YES, started complaining about what he had been through that “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” This man had suffered for 38 years and all he could do when someone offered to help was to talk about what he had gone through. Most of us today are suffering yet we complain (about our current situation, our Job, family, etc) without asking for any solution. The master explicitly said in His word that “ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.”
God was pleased to place everything you would need on earth in Jesus. He doesn’t want to see us wanting in life so he made the provision for your needs before you were born. All you have to now is to ask for what you desire at “this time”. David understood this precept thus he said in Psalms 23 that THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT. You shall not want in life if you ASK whatever you need in Jesus’ Name, and in Faith. Next time you go to the Father in prayer, discipline yourself enough to quit complaining about the unpleasant situation you are in, and Ask for what you want Him to do to get you out of the situation. Quit talking to God about your problems because He knows them. ASK for solutions. Ask in Faith, and in the Name of Jesus.
HOW TO ASK
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to ask for our daily bread, in other words, to ask for our daily needs when we pray. Prayer opens heaven, and it gives us inner tranquility. In Philippians 4:6, we are to present our request in Prayer. Prayer is the master key to open every closed door of opportunity, prosperity, health, happiness, hope, etc. Always present your request in prayer. I asked some married women the convenient time they talk to their husbands about their needs. Some said “usually at dawn”, others said “after a special treat”, “after a family visit”, and to my surprise, some said “usually after a fight or misunderstanding, and he is ashamed”. As Christians, the best time we can pour our needs to the Father is during “PRAYING HOURS”. He hears us all the time but the best is through Prayer, when our focus is on Him.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11: 24. When you ask in Prayer, have Faith that it is done, and it will be yours. Without faith, it is impossible to please the Father. How are you going to win a person’s favor when he or she is not pleased with you? And you can only get a promotion when the company is pleased with your performance. When we present our request to the Father, we should have faith that He is more than able to perform.
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord” James 1:6,7.
The scripture tells us that He is Faithful. He will do whatever He says or promises. In 1 Kings, Solomon said “Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses”. When we pray in faith, the impossibility becomes possible.
- Ask in the Name of Jesus.
The “Name of Jesus” is the concession we have as believers. Whenever we ask in Jesus’ Name, heaven opens and blessings begin to pour on us. When we pray in the Name of Jesus, no one has the power to oppose. Jesus said in John 14:13 “I will do whatever you ask in my Name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14; you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Present your request in Prayer, Ask in Faith, and in the Name of JESUS, and whatever it is that you ask for will be yours. And don’t forget to give thanks.
WHY AIN’T WE RECEIVING?
Most believers complain when praying. They complain in FAITH, AND IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Jesus never said Complain and it shall be given to you. He said ASK. I read through the book of Job, and one thing I found was Job was always complaining about what he was going through. Let us take this scenario; A Christian who needs a Job as a manager of a company. Instead of asking for what he wants “Father, in the Name of Jesus I need a Job as a Manager in a manufacturing firm. I thank you for giving me …in Jesus’ Name. Amen.” He prayed like this “Father, you know that I am not working. All my colleagues are getting good jobs, getting better pay, and building houses. I have been praying for months but no answer. People are laughing at me because I am not working. I thank You that you have heard me. Amen.” This fellow was only complaining about his situation. Most believers spend time complaining, instead of asking.
Again, most of us ask for something for our pleasure. Our motive, most of the time, is to show off. For instance “Father, make me rich so that my friends will know that you are with me. Or give me a child so that people will know… ” When you have such motive, according to James 4:3, you won’t receive anything. God isn’t going to provide for you because of your friends, family, etc neither is he going to do what you want because of your righteousness. He is doing wonders today because He wants to make Name for himself. He wants whatever He does for you to bring Him glory through Jesus Christ. God gives grace to the humble.
MY PRAYER FOR YOU
It’s my prayer that God meets you at the point of your need. That He shows you the right path to succeed. That He takes away anything that will delay His promises concerning your life. I know and believe that from today you will ask in prayer, in faith, and in the Name of Jesus. Again, you will have a clear motive for whatever you ask. God bless you.
Uplifting Christ 