Christians should learn to always be grateful to God for what He has done and not take His provision for granted. Naturally, if you give a person a gift and he doesn’t appreciate it, it certainly will not bring joy to you. In the same way, we must appreciate God for all He has given us with grateful hearts.
1 John 5:14-15 says, ‘And this is the confidence we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him’. Continue to read
All that John wrote in this scripture rests on one condition: asking according to God’s will. This implies that there is a right way of asking that guarantees our prayers being answered.
We must understand that asking in the context of God’s will means asking right and guarantees receiving from God. When some Christians ask and do not receive, they automatically conclude in their hearts that it is not the will of God for them that they receive what they asked for. There is a need for believers to have a better understanding of how to receive from God.
First, there are certain things we don’t need to ask God for as they are already provided for us to help fulfill our divine destiny here on earth. Long life, divine health, fruitfulness and healing fall into this category. You just need to receive them. They are already given to us and are ours because we are God’s children.
In other areas like finance, marriage, ministry and where to settle down, we must ask God for His will. We must imbibe the attitude of seeking for God’s will for the next level in these areas of our lives, knowing that whichever point we are at a particular time is the least possible level for us in that area because the path of the righteous is like a shining light that shines brighter unto the perfect day. There cannot be a regression in your life, only progression; this is God’s general will for us.
We must also understand the concept of patience. That we do not see the manifestation yet does not necessarily mean that it is not God’s will for us to have it at that time. It is therefore more profitable to spend time seeking God’s will before asking for anything as confidence and faith come when you know the will of God for you at each given time. When we have faith, patience becomes easy for us to have, because the things we need might just need a little more time before they come to full manifestation.
Faith starts when the will of God is known. Where there is faith, there is absolute lack of doubt. According to our text above, when we know that we pray according to the will of God, we have confidence. When we have confidence, we receive from God everything we ask of Him.
However, lack of faith and asking outside of God’s will are not the only things that can prevent the manifestation of what you have asked for. According to James 4:2-3, our intentions also matter. Asking for selfish reasons is a waste of time because these kind of prayers do not come up before God. Our intentions must be pure, born out desire to move to the next level God has prepared for us; a desire to fulfill God’s will for our lives.
Little wonder John wrote in John 15:7 that ‘if ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.’ When the word of God abides in you, then it would impossible for you not to see the manifestation whatever you ask from God. When we abide in God’s word, then we will always know His will for us per time and then see it manifest. God’s word must therefore dwell in you richly.
Lastly, we must ask only in the name of Jesus according to John 16:23, because whatever we ask in His name we shall always receive. The name of Jesus is the name above every other name; it is that name through which we have all been saved. It is the name that produces results. Don’t ask in any other name apart from the name Jesus Christ and you shall receive!
: Presented by Destiny Life Christian Centre.
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