Ask, and It Will Be Given To You!!!!

John 15:7..If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be given to you.

Matthew 7:8…For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knochs, the door will be opened.

One of the greatest engagements between the human and the spiritual is through prayer. What happens in the physical is a consequence, infact a manifestation of the spiritual dispensation. Before it is granted in the physical, its already granted in the spiritual. Therefore, its usually a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ it will happen in the world which our physical eyes can see.

Its therefore necessary that our spiritual antennae is sensitive to the going ons. Through prayer, God allows us to download his promises and upload(embed) them in our lives. When Jesus was teaching the disciples on how to pray, mid course he said “ May your will be done”. Though God’s will is supreme and he is relentless in his promises, we download it through prayer.

For instance, God made great promises to the children of I srael in Ezekiel 36…….to prosper them, to make them great, and to do other wonderful things to them(Ezekiel 36: 26-36). Yet remarkably, in verse 37 he requires them to ask him for the same….This is what the Sovereign LORD says; Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel to do this for them. This means he will require them to make the requests to him in prayer.

What if we don’t ask????

In the parable of the prodigal son, when the truant (prodigal/lost) son comes back home, the father prepares a feast and the fattened calf is killed in his honour. This, according to the ‘obedient’ (legally righteous) son is unfair, because all this while he had been good, yet nothing had been done in his honour. He complains ;

Luke 15:29…He answered, “ Look! All these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you slaughter the fattened calf for him.

His fathers response……….

Verse 31..“My son,” the father said “ you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

His fault- HE HAD NOT ASKED

While the ceremony analogises the celebration of angels when a soul comes to the kingdom (accepts Christ), another aspect of being a child of the Almighty God is introduced……..that everything he has is ours, we only need to ask. When one receives Christ he is given the right to become a child of God (John 1:12), and all the rights and privileges of sonship apply.

Apostle Paul, through his messages to the different churches (Ephesians, Collosians, Phillipians, Thessalonians)  his stance about prayer is consistent and regular…..Do not be anxious about anything, but present your requests through prayer to God being thankful to him, and do everything in prayer, for it’s a great weapon of war,(Phil 4:6-7, 1 thess 5:16-18,Col 3:17,Ephesians 6:18,Hebrews 4:16 ) just to point out some of his teachings.

Therefore we need to ask , and we must ask ;

Matthew 11:12…. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God has been forcefully  advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it..(it is taken by violence)

And after asking...........

Mark 11:24....Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

I remain

-MWAKA-

THE LORD HAS A SPOUSE READY FOR YOU

One of the greatest decisions we make as humans is the search for a spouse suitable and desirable. This is an issue we should approach with a lot of prayer, so that the will of God may prevail and that we get the spouse he has been entitled and prepared for us. The emergence of these unions can be traced to the creation of the first man- Adam. We read in Genesis 2:18…The LORD God said, “It is not good for a man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” From this reading we learn that;

1.The man did not even know that he was ‘single’ .We can oIt is in the LORD’s great and divine wisdom that he learnt this and thought about the solution. God therefore anticipates our needs and fulfills them even before we can ask for them, thereby doing exceedingly above what we can think and even imagine, just as his word promises us.(Ephesians 3:20)

Therefore the LORD knows that we need a spouse and we should therefore pray that the will of God happens regarding our choice of marriage partners.

2. The timing of the heavenly father is awesome and perfect. It is his will to match his creation with their perfect spouses as planned by the almighty father. In  Isaiah 34:16…Look in the scroll of the LORD and read; None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his spirit will gather them together.

Therefore the gathering power of the holy spirit will bring the ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ together, to the glory and honour of the holy & Almighty God. This is best described by the situations surrounding the conception and subsequent birth of our savior Jesus Christ. The Bible records the following in Matthew chapter 1 and verses 18-19;

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about; His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband  was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Though they were not married, the Bible calls Joseph her husband and uses the word ‘divorce’ to describe their prospective parting, though Mary was only pledged to him as described in the previous verse.

When the angel appeared to Joseph (verse 20), he calls Mary ‘his wife’  which is according to the prophesies of earlier prophets, in the old testament who had prophesied that Jesus would be born from the house of David.(Isaiah 22:22, 9:6-7)

This had been planned by God before, and so is everyone’s who believes in God. He is a God who knows the end from the beginning and is able to satisfy everyone. His hand is not short, and his ear is not deaf…..to hear the prayers of the saints. Better still, he grants the desires of our hearts (Psalms 37:4)

3. The devil can divert our destiny, if we don’t allow the LORD to lead our lives, fully trusting in him and dedicating our plans to him.

Proverbs 16:1…..To a man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.

Proverbs 21:31….The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

We should commit our plans to God and allow his will to lead us, for his will is perfect to our lives. Failure to do this invites the enemy by default to lead us, and we know too well his key objectives (The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, John 10:10).

A quick demonstration of diverted destiny is found in the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4:16-18 which reads;

He(Jesus) told her “ Go call your husband and come back”  “ I have no husband”, She replied. Jesus said to her “ You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true. 

Her destiny had been diverted and for that reason her life was going round in circles……..for she had not found her God given husband.

Lesson: God’s timing is best, believe pray and act- God will grant you not only the desires of your heart but also the requests of your lips

I remain..

-MWAKA-