Matthew 7:7 – “Ask (aiteite) and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks (aitwn)
receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Lu 9:45 - “But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”
1. To
Ask – verb, aiteo
"to
ask," Aiteo more frequently suggests the attitude of a suppliant, the
petition of one who is lesser in position than he to whom the petition is made.
a. in the case of men in asking something
from God, Matt. 7:7;
b. a child from a parent, Matt. 7:9,10;
c. a subject from a king, Acts 12:20;
d. priests and people from Pilate, Luke
23:23 (RV, "asking" for AV, "requiring");
e. a beggar from a passer by, Acts 3:2.
With reference to petitioning God, this
verb is found in Paul's epistles in Eph. 3:20; Col.
1:9; in James four times, James 1:5,6; 4:2,3; in 1 John, five times, 1 John
3:22; 5:14,15
2.
Request, Desire, verb, erotao
more
frequently suggests that the petitioner is on a footing of equality or
familiarity with the person whom he requests.
a. It is used of a king in making request
from another king, Luke 14:32;
b. of the Pharisee who "desired"
Christ that He would eat with him, an indication of the inferior conception he
had of Christ, Luke 7:36; Luke 11:37; John 9:15; 18:19.
In this respect it is significant that the
Lord Jesus never used aiteo in the matter of making request to the Father.
Jesus
asks, or declares that He will ask anything of the Father, it is always erotao,
an asking, that is, upon equal terms,
John 14:16; 16:26; 17:9,15,20. It is
never aiteo.
In
passages where both words are used, the distinction should be noticed, even if
it cannot be adequately represented in English.
In
John 16:23, "in that day ye shall ask Me nothing," the verb is
erotao, whereas in the latter part of the verse, in the sentence, "If ye
shall ask anything of the Father," the verb is aiteo.
Ezra 8:21 - There, by the
humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us
and our children, with all our
possessions.
1Timothy 5:5 - “The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her
hope in God and continues night and day to
pray and to ask God for help.”
2) If you ask then you should plan on him doing
what he said
Ezra
8:22 - I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to
protect us from enemies on the road,
because we had told the king, "The
gracious hand of our God is on everyone
who looks to him, but his
great anger is against all who forsake
him."
Mt 21:22 - “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
3) Ask for things that are in his obvious will.
Mt 9:38 - “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field."
1Jo
5:14 - “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if
we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
4) Asking
is an expression of your will.
a.
There is power within your desires.
b.
If you are hungry you will find food. If you are lonely you seek out a person. If you are tired you will sleep. If you want something you will ask for it.
c.
If you want God and his will in your life you will ask for it
Lu 11:9 - "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and
the door will be opened to you.
Lu 10:2 - He told them, "The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field.”
5) Power of Agreement
a.
If one persons expressed will makes a difference, then two people
are better.
b.
Two people expressing the same desire will have a multiplying
effect.
Mt 18:19 - "Again, I tell you
that if two of you on earth agree about anything
you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
6) Accomplishing God’s will is our purpose
John 14:13 – “And I will do whatever
you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
7) When we desire what God is trying to do then nothing will be impossible
John
14:14 – “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it
John 15:7 – “If you remain in me and
my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
John 16:23 – “In that day you will no
longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name.
8) We Can Ask for things that we simply want for
our own kingdom
Mr 11:24 - “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be
yours.”
1Jo
5:15 – “And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.”
9) Fulfilling God’s will requires us receiving
his provision
Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
10) Accomplishing our purpose
and God’s will brings us joy
John 16:24
– “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.
Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Reasons for not asking:
1)
Pride
a.
Self-sufficient
b.
Rebellion
i.
Isa 7:12 -But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test."
2)
Fear
a.
Of responsibility - expectations
b.
Of requirements – repenting, obedience
3)
Lack of knowledge
a.
Of God’s Principle
Jas 1:5 – “If any of you lacks
wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him.”
b.
Of Man’s kingdom potential
4)
Asking the men something that you should be asking God
“Jesus saw that they wanted
to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant
when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then
after a little while you will see me'?” (John 16:19)
Examples of the Power of
Asking
Ex 3:22 - Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house
for articles of silver and gold and for clothing,
which you will put on
your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder
the Egyptians."
Ex 11:2
- Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.
1Ki 3:5 – “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a
dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
2Ki 4:3 – “Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few.”
Psalms 2:8 - Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession
Why Asking is a Necessary
Requirement for Receiving
We have been given freewill
We have our own souls that we are
responsible for.
Freewill includes the freedom to
choose.
God does some things because it is
within his plan for his kingdom.
He gives us the right to do what we
want with our kingdom.
Our souls and our lives are our
kingdom.
We are the king of our soul.
If you want something from God’s
kingdom you must ask for it.
Why We Do Not Receive
Problems:
1)
We do not ask
Jas 4:2
– “You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you
cannot have what you want. You quarrel
and fight. You do not have,
because you do not ask God.”
2)
Wrong Desires
Jas 4:3
– “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong
motives, that you may spend what you get
on your pleasures.”
3)
Failure to Obey
(Failure to please him)
1Jo 3:22 – “. . . and receive from
him anything we ask, because we obey his
commands and do what pleases him.”
4)
Inability to Believe
5)
Inability to Wait and Endure
6)
Inability to manage and accomplish what you have asked for
a.
Things we ask for require us to demonstrate responsibility and
management.
b.
You cannot receive successfully something you do not have the
capacity for. Like a first year guitar
player wanting to give a concert.
c.
You cannot receive something that you can not handle. Like a 5 year wanting a horse.
7)
Not God’s will – God’s purpose will and should always override
your desires.
2 Corinthians 12: 8, “Tree times I pleaded (Gr. “cried out”) with
the Lord to
take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient
for you.”
1Jo
5:14 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if
we ask
anything according to his
will, he hears us.”
Responsibility of the
Believer to Ask God
1.
When
we have a need it is so we turn to ask God.
1Ti 5:5 - “The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her
hope in
God and continues night and day to pray
and to ask God for help.”