ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE


A. "ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU" - MATTHEW 7:7-11
  1. These words, coming from the lips of the Son of God:
    1. Are heaven's invitation to prayer
    2. They show clearly that God wants us to pray
  2. Spiritual poverty is an indications:
    1. Of neglect of prayer - James 4:1-3
    2. Of man's indifference to God's promises to those who diligently seek the Lord in prayer
B. PRAYER IN THE LIGHT OF OUR OPENING TEXT
  1. The promise:
    1. Said Jesus, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you" - John 16:23
    2. "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee" - Jer. 33:3
    3. "Oh thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come" - Ps. 65:2
  2. The simplicity of God's promises to all who seek Him in prayer:
    1. "Ask, and it shall be given you;" the words of Christ here are such simple words that a child might understand; how gracious God is to put such great and mysterious truths in such simple words
    2. "Asking" is one of the first lessons a child learns to make know its desires to its parents - Matt. 7:11
    3. Writes James, "Ye have not, because ye ask not" - James 4:2
  3. Conditions to our receiving our requests:
    1. "Whatsoever ye ask of the Father in My name" - John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23,24,26
    2. Jesus Christ, the Son of man is the divine channel through which all blessing must come; H is the Alpha and the Omega of God's promises
    3. When we pray we must ask according to the will of God - I John 5:14-15
    4. Our finite minds do not know what is best for us and for that reason, we must be guided by the Divine will in all our request - Matt. 20:22
    5. We must ask in faith - Mark 11:24 Examples: The Centurion - Matt. 8:5-10; the woman with the blood disease - Matt. 9:20-22; the lame man at the gate of the temple - Acts 3:1-11
    6. We must abide in Jesus - John 15:7; the branch not abiding in the vine need not pray to be filled with sap. Seeking the glory of God and abiding in Jesus will bring eternal results
    7. That our hearts do not condemn us - I John 3:21-22; it is possible and, alas, so common to ask with the lips what the heart never expects
C. HINDRANCES TO PRAYER - WE DO NOT SPEAK HERE OF HINDRANCE TO PRAYING, BUT OF THOSE THINGS WHICH HINDER THE ANSWERS
  1. Insincerity:
    1. "Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God, and whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" - I John 3:21-22
    2. The Pharisees were men of prayer - and yet their prayers were an abomination in the sight of the Lord - why, because they were not sincere - Matt. 6:5; Luke 18:11,12
  2. Cherishing sin in our life:
    1. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" - Ps. 66:18; Job 36:21
    2. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination" - Prov. 28:9
    3. Selfishness is another barrier to prayer - James 4:3 - "Ye have not because ye ask amiss": The sad part of it all is that too many prayers are marked by selfishness; Examples: The mother and her two sons - Matt. 20:21-22; Jonah - Jonah 4; the request of the two disciples - Luke 9:54
    4. Impatience - Ps. 40:1; David says, "I waited patiently and He heard me" - Ps. 40:1; how narrow is our concept of life. To often we are so much in haste when we pray that we become discouraged when we do not receive an answer to our prayers
    5. I know of some godly women who prayed for over twenty years for the conversion of their husbands - the answer was long in waiting but it came at last
    6. Unbelief - Mark 11:24 - unbelief closes the door


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