Some people seem surprised when I tell them that in nearly 37 years as a Christian, I can't remember a single time when I have asked in prayer, and not received.
1. Jesus intended making this as easy as possible, not hard.
He wanted the disciples to grasp how willing the Father is.
Asking the Father in Jesus' Name means the Father will respond to us just as if it was Jesus' Himself asking. Grasp that!
So we can take all the pressure off ourself, and put it on the Name of Jesus!
That's what Jesus was getting across.
(See the conclusion at the end.)
2. We can't use the prayer of faith to override free-will.
For example, God has ordained that in order to receive salvation, every man must believe God for it himself. So you can't use your faith to receive salvation on somebody else's behalf.
You can ask God to send someone to preach to him; you can pray the Father draws him; you can rebuke the devils from hindering him - and much of the time, that will be enough to see the person get saved quite soon - but we can't 'get saved' on someone else's behalf.
Once the person is willing to believe, you can lead them to Christ straightaway, can't you. The person doesn't have to say, "If it be thy will" - because we already know it's God's will to save all who call upon Him.
Sometimes, not always, praying for healing for others is like that too. Sometimes we can't minister healing if the person doesn't want us to.
And when you're praying for "things", when receiving depends on others giving, sometimes there might be a delay. But still, you know you're going to receive it. But usually, God can find someone willing to give quite soon. You'd be surprised how much He can work with others, and how willing others can be to work with Him, on your behalf!
But when it's something that involves only God's will and yours, given other factors are in place too, then it can be received straightaway every time!
3. There are other factors too.
I won't mention some of those factors in this Post.
And we mightn't always know whether other factors are in play or not. Or even what the other factors might be.
In such cases, when we aren't sure how to pray like we should, we can check with our spirit, see how it feels, before we proceed to ask.
You might feel a red light or a green light, before you ask, put there by the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
If you still don't feel any guidance, then when we don't know what to pray for like we should, I have experienced that we can just tell God that.
Tell him what you'd like to ask if only you felt more sure - pour out your heart before Him - your desires, your uncertainty, your weakness, your lack of knowledge and understanding. Not asking per se, but just pouring out your heart and desire to Him.
So far, every time I've done that, I ended up receiving anyway!
Remember, he made this as easy as possible, not as hard as possible. He put all the burden on His Name, not on us!
Conclusion
It's about the special respect the Father has for Jesus. It's not about our good works. So whenever the Father hears someone ask in Jesus' Name, He will always do it! It's about the integrity of the relationship between the Father and the Son.
You believe in their special relationship with each other, don't you. Then you can believe the Father will give anything asked in Jesus' Name!
1. Jesus intended making this as easy as possible, not hard.
He wanted the disciples to grasp how willing the Father is.
Asking the Father in Jesus' Name means the Father will respond to us just as if it was Jesus' Himself asking. Grasp that!
So we can take all the pressure off ourself, and put it on the Name of Jesus!
That's what Jesus was getting across.
(See the conclusion at the end.)
2. We can't use the prayer of faith to override free-will.
For example, God has ordained that in order to receive salvation, every man must believe God for it himself. So you can't use your faith to receive salvation on somebody else's behalf.
You can ask God to send someone to preach to him; you can pray the Father draws him; you can rebuke the devils from hindering him - and much of the time, that will be enough to see the person get saved quite soon - but we can't 'get saved' on someone else's behalf.
Once the person is willing to believe, you can lead them to Christ straightaway, can't you. The person doesn't have to say, "If it be thy will" - because we already know it's God's will to save all who call upon Him.
Sometimes, not always, praying for healing for others is like that too. Sometimes we can't minister healing if the person doesn't want us to.
And when you're praying for "things", when receiving depends on others giving, sometimes there might be a delay. But still, you know you're going to receive it. But usually, God can find someone willing to give quite soon. You'd be surprised how much He can work with others, and how willing others can be to work with Him, on your behalf!
But when it's something that involves only God's will and yours, given other factors are in place too, then it can be received straightaway every time!
3. There are other factors too.
I won't mention some of those factors in this Post.
And we mightn't always know whether other factors are in play or not. Or even what the other factors might be.
In such cases, when we aren't sure how to pray like we should, we can check with our spirit, see how it feels, before we proceed to ask.
You might feel a red light or a green light, before you ask, put there by the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
If you still don't feel any guidance, then when we don't know what to pray for like we should, I have experienced that we can just tell God that.
Tell him what you'd like to ask if only you felt more sure - pour out your heart before Him - your desires, your uncertainty, your weakness, your lack of knowledge and understanding. Not asking per se, but just pouring out your heart and desire to Him.
So far, every time I've done that, I ended up receiving anyway!
Remember, he made this as easy as possible, not as hard as possible. He put all the burden on His Name, not on us!
Conclusion
It's about the special respect the Father has for Jesus. It's not about our good works. So whenever the Father hears someone ask in Jesus' Name, He will always do it! It's about the integrity of the relationship between the Father and the Son.
You believe in their special relationship with each other, don't you. Then you can believe the Father will give anything asked in Jesus' Name!
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