Passage of the Day:

“In that day you will not [need to] ask Me about anything. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name [as My representative], He will give you. Until now you have not asked [the Father] for anything in My name; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be full and complete. “I have told you these things in figurative language (veiled language, proverbs); the hour is now coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf [because it will be unnecessary]; for the Father Himself [tenderly] loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father.” (JOHN 16:23-27 AMP)

I used to wonder why some things that I pray for don’t happen, when Jesus has promised that the Father will give us whatever we ask in His name. 

I was misunderstanding it. The passage of the day shows us that persistence in prayer is important.

Jesus wants us to keep on asking for what we want. Why? Because what we want at one moment in time may just be out of impulse, and we may not really want it that much.

If we don’t persist in asking for it, it automatically tells us that we don’t really desire it anyway. 

Another thing is that Jesus wants our joy to be full and complete when we receive what we ask in His name.

So if something we are asking for will not result in full and complete joy, but instead result in unhappiness and disaster, our Heavenly Father protects us by not giving it to us. 

Sometimes we want something but don’t get it because we try to earn it by our works without asking God for it as a gift: 

“You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]. You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.” (JAMES 4:2-3 AMP)

At other times we ask and don’t receive it because it’s not good for us.

Let me give you an example: I am a dad of a 2 year old daughter. If she asks me to let her play with the stove, I’m going to say no because I love her. 

I don’t want her to burn herself and get hurt. 

As an adult, I know the dangers of it and can foresee the harms that would happen if I gave in to her request. 

Similarly, we must trust that God loves us, wants the best for us, and is always protecting us from harm. 

If what I pray for doesn’t happen at this point of time, even if it’s seemingly a good thing with no sinful or evil side effects, I must trust that God knows better, and that He can see what I cannot see with my puny, mortal mind. 

“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will [instead] give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will [instead] give him a snake? If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him.” (MATTHEW 7:7-11 AMP)

God is most willing to give us good and advantageous gifts! But if what we’re asking for doesn’t fulfill those two criteria, then we won’t get what we’re praying for. 

If what you’re asking for is good and advantageous, then keep on asking Him for it, trusting that God is working in you to prepare you to receive that gift at the best-possible time. 

“And I will do whatever you ask in My name [ as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it.” (JOHN 14:13-14 AMP)

Is what you’re asking for in prayer going to glorify Jesus and our Heavenly Father? 

If you ask for a million dollars so that you can laze around and do nothing all day, that’s not a life that glorifies God.

Remember that God knows the hidden motives of your heart, even if you don’t know it yourself. 

“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.” (JOHN 15:16 AMP)

Is what you’re asking for going to bear good fruits that lasts eternally—in other words, do they result in good works that glorify God? 

Only such works will endure the fiery test and merit rewards when you stand before the throne of Christ on the last day. 

Keep persisting in prayer according to God’s will, and you will get what you’re asking for. 

I’m sure glad that I don’t always get what I want—I only want what God wants for me right now! 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Abba God, teach us through Your Holy Spirit to ask You for good and advantageous gifts. 

We only desire what You want for us, and please protect us from anything that can result in harm to us. 

We submit to You as obedient and reliant children and trust that Daddy knows best. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen! 

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