TODAY’S MEDITATION – If you ask and don’t receive, this message is for you, for Jesus said “ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7-8)

“Ask and you shall receive” is pronounced by Jesus many times in the Gospel and in different ways. The problem with the Word of God is that believers sometimes read it out of context, just to suit their selfish needs. And sadly enough, this is what people who preach prosperity do, thus destroying the faith of those who misinterpret the words of the Lord as they ask, but get no answers. My brother, my sister, “ask and you shall receive” what God considered good, that’s what the Lord is saying. Let’s us clarify this: during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His disciples that whoever asks receives, whoever seeks finds, and to whoever knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8). But, to get the full understanding of what He meant, we need to read the entire passage that says that God will not fail to give His children good things. Now, what is good for God is not necessarily what you consider to be good. Now, read the same message in Luke, and you see that the words “good things” are replaced by “the Holy Spirit” (Luke 11:9-13). My friends, it vital for us to understand that Jesus gives two conditions to our asking: we have to ask “in His name” (John 14:14) and above all we have to love Jesus, obey Him, and pray according to God’s will (John 14:15). In other words, prayers to God cannot be like our requests of men. You see, many prayers remain unanswered due to our misinterpretation of the Word. One key point about asking the Lord is also often ignored: we need to have renewed minds (Romans 12:1-2), which can only be done through God’s Word that helps us to understand God’s will and what is good, so that we know what to ask for. Therefore, Christian should always ask the Lord this: “Lord, make me love You above everything else” and “make me want what You want” because when we truly desire God and long to see the Kingdom of God realised in our lives and in the lives of others, when we want to see His will and His work in this world, and we ask for the things that bring Him glory and increase our closeness to Him, He is eager and willing to give us anything we ask for. And Most of the time the things that glorify God also match our earthly desire too (a prayer for health, a job, marriage or a child). Sometimes they can be difficult things, like a failure that humbles us or a physical weakness that makes us dependent upon Him. But we must never doubt that, when we pray for what is in His will, we will receive it from Him so “,Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) because anything we receive from Him is always be the best for us… and anyway, His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.

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