Ask - No tantrums!

Mat 7:7 – Ask and it shall be given you... Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear (KJV).

Looking at these two scriptures, they seem so contradictory (though they are not, as God’s word isn’t confusing or contradictory at all).

Isaiah 65:24 implies that God knows you are going to call on Him before you do, so He answers even before you call and He is able to give you an answer to your request before you’ve finished asking. So if this is the case, why tell us to ask at all? He says we must ask to receive in Matthew 7:7. Also, Philippians 4:6 (KJV) says ‘Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. I ask again, why would He tell us to make our requests known to Him as if He already knows? We know that God is the omniscient God (the all knowing God), so why make us ask Him for something He already knows you need or want.

Need and/or want: those two words are very important when it comes to prayer, you see, God already said He would provide all our needs according to His riches in glory. What you want may not be what you need, God determines what you need. For example; if you’re a parent, you determine what your child needs (and you provide it before they even know they need it) until he or she gets to a certain age, the age of maturity, where they are able to determine their needs for themselves. At this age, hopefully, they know the difference between a need and a want.

A want is a desire for something and that something may or may not add any value to our lives. A need on the other hand definitely adds value, so you don’t need to ask God for food, He knows you need it, and He says He feeds the birds of the air and since you mean much more to Him than the birds of the air, He will definitely feed, clothe and protect you. These are basic needs in life and God will not deny any of His children those needs (remember that the enemy can steal the provisions if you let Him, but we won’t go there today).

When it comes to wants or desires that’s a different matter. So in this case, God tells you to ask Him. This is not because He doesn’t know your desires, but He wants you to learn to desire what He desires. He wants to see your level of maturity, and He wants you to see it for yourself too. If you truly are a mature son or daughter, you will know the difference between a need and a desire or want, and you will ask appropriately.

Come with me to Gethsemane, let’s hear Jesus’ prayer again; Matthew 26: 39 - And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."
It was Jesus’ desire for the cup to pass, but He was willing to submit Himself unto God, to place His own will/desire under His father’s will/desire, to allow His father’s will to consume His own will. Just to show you that this was a true battle between the spirit and the flesh, see what He says to His disciples in vs 41 Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. But guess what? The spirit overcame, see vs 42 - He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Here he has fully accepted that His father’s will must be done, that His own desires are irrelevant because the root of those desires is the flesh, self, and He has kept this under, He denied the desires of His flesh.

Selflessness comes with maturity; mature people don’t throw tantrums, only children do. God will give you the power to pray effectively when you are able to prove that you are selfless in prayer and that you do not allow your own desire to interfere with your prayers and with the will of God for your life, when your motives are righteous. Jesus showed that He was ready to do His father’s will, He wasn’t afraid to show that He had His own desires, but He knew that those were not real. The real thing was God’s will, because it is God’s word, and God’s word will never ever pass away. Everything will pass away, but His word will remain and because God had spoken that Jesus will die, Jesus had to die, both His flesh and His will, this is why that cup could not pass as Jesus desired. Moreover, His desire for His father’s will weighed more on His heart than His own will. That is true love and relationship.

We need to get to a place where we are able to demonstrate selflessness to God, not to people, but to God. This is where real power lies, this means that you have given the Holy Spirit full control, because it is the Holy Spirit that knows the heart of God and He places God’s desires in your heart.

So next time you ask God for a fancy new house or car or anything else you think is very important to you, and He doesn’t give it to you, don’t throw tantrums, just do the following;

1. Thank God for the ability and opportunity to ask freely
2. Thank Him for providing your needs according to His riches in glory
3. Cover your provisions with the blood of Jesus
4. Ask the Holy Spirit whether what you are asking for is God’s desire or your own (remembering that your needs have been provided)
5. If it is your own desire, and it is not in line with God’s desire, repent and ask God for His desire instead.
6. Ask the Lord to help you die to self daily so you can be like Jesus
The closer you are to God, the more you know Him, after a while you will not need to ask Him what He desires, you’ll know, just as Moses knew the heart of God.

So feel free to ask, but be ready to listen to and accept the answer you’ll get.
(Written by Yewande Erinle 2009 © All rights reserved.)