Prayer

Luke 11:9-10 And I say to you, ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened:

We sometimes take these verses to mean we will be granted anything we ask for from the Lord. We want it, we need it, we ask for it and we get disillusioned when we do not receive it. Why, God, why? As Christians we’ve been told God will give us our heart’s desires, so we pray for that which we want. Like children wanting candy at bedtime, we plead our desires and wait with open hands.

This is key to understand; God gives to us according to His discernment of what our real needs are, not simply what we think we want.

These verses do not give blanket authorization for the believer to demand anything from God, but only ask in full dependence upon God’s discernment of particular needs and action according to His wisdom. Many times what we ask for from God is not in His will for us. He will give us only what is for our eternal good and for the execution of his plan and timetable for the whole world. “Good” for the believer is not what he desires, but what God discerns as the thing which will execute His plan and bring the believer into a closer relationship with Him.

Sometimes God’s answer to our prayers is ‘yes’, sometimes it is ‘not now’ and sometimes it is ‘no’. Regardless of what answer we get, we can take full and complete comfort in the knowledge that, whether we get what we have asked for or not, God knows best and we will receive according to His wisdom for our best interest. That, Friends, is an answered prayer in and of itself!