August 08, 2012: Ask, Ask, Ask, Do You ASK the Lord to Grant Your Prayers?
Most people do not think the word “ASK” is important, but as to our relationship with the Lord it is very important! What is the definition of ask, what is the origin of ask?
Origin of ASK
Middle English, from Old English āscian; akin to Old High German eiscōn to ask, Lithuanian ieškoti to seek, Sanskrit icchati he seeks
First Known Use: before 12th century. (note: this is from the Merriam-Webster dictionary).
transitive verb
1
a: to call on for an answer <she asked
him about his trip> b: to put a question about <asking
her whereabouts> c: speak, utter <ask a question>
2
a: to make a request of <she asked
her teacher for help> b: to make a request for <she asked
help from her teacher>
3
:
to call for : require <a challenge
that will ask much of us>
4
:
to set as a price <asked $3000 for the car>
5
:
invite
intransitive verb
1
:
to seek information
2
:
to make a request <asked for food>
3
:
look —often used in the
phrase ask for trouble
— ask·ernoun
Many of us think that we do not need to ask the Lord anything because we have been taught that He knows our every thought, our every need. This is the wrong altitude to have! Yes; He knew us before we were born and the Lord knows our every thought and our needs. During my research on this in my PC Study Bible software I found over 4,271 quires for the word ask, so as you can see the word ask is important, but for what we are talking about we do not need concern ourselves at this time on all 4,271 quires.
The point is that the Lord wants us to inquire, to seek Him, to call on Him for an answer and not just assume that He will give us everything we ask for. The Lord is waiting for you to ask Him (in prayer) about your needs, He wants you to petition Him and assume nothing. I do not have the time or space here to list all of the scriptures that pertain to asking God to hear our prayers, but if you don’t ask you will not receive as you will see in the scriptures listed below. At this time Jesus knew that His ministry on Earth was coming to an end and that soon He would be with our Father in Heaven by His right hand side, this is made clear in verse 12 chapter 14: “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.”
John 14:13 Amplified Version: “And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.”
This part; [as presenting all that I AM] is also very important! It does not mean that just because you ask Him for a million dollars, or a new car or house that you will receive it, in other words do you really need that or will a lesser amount cover your needs, does it really present Him in all that He is? You will notice it says; as presenting all that I AM. The Lord will meet and grand all reasonable prayers that present Him as the” I AM.” The Lord is your provider and knows your needs; does your prayer glorify and honor Him? The Lord is not your magic gene!
John 14:14 Amplified Version: “[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM].”
John 16:23 Amplified Version: “And when the time comes, you will ask nothing of Me [you will need to ask Me no questions]. I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM].”
John 16:24 Amplified Version: “Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.”
John 16:26 Amplified Version: “At that time you will ask (pray) in My Name; and I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf [for it will be unnecessary].” In verse 27 it goes on to say: “For the Father Himself [tenderly] loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I come out from the Father.”
As you can see it is very important that we ask (pray) to our Father in Jesus name, we cannot assume anything we have to ask and ask and ask again and again never giving up, having faith and expecting that our prayers will be answered but also ensuring that our prayers are presenting Him all that He is. He is the great I Am. God wants us to depend entirely on Him. He wants up to lean on, trust in and rely on Him. We are partners with God, and that means that we both have responsibly. The Lord says that we can do nothing apart from Him. He means things will not work properly in our lives unless we invite Him into everything. To many times we try to do things our way and it does not work out, most of the time we make a big mess of it, but if we submit to His way everything will work out. Remember that “ Greater is He that is within us then he that is in the world.”
