Jesus made some statements during His time on earth that many cling to. He said that, “if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:21-22). “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you” (Matthew 17:20). “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…how much more will our Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-8, 11).
From these statements alone you might believe that you can have anything you want and do anything you want. Just pray for it and you will have it. It’s like magic. Wouldn’t that be great? Need a higher income? Just ask. Need a spouse? Just ask. Need a new car? Just ask. Anything you want, just pray and you will receive it. However, if you look at the whole of Scripture, there is another suggestion.
It was the apostle Paul who desired to have a weakness removed from his life. Yet the only answer he received was, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul asked for this three times, but kept getting the same answer. I thought whatever we asked for we would receive. Then why not Paul? Our Lord Himself, while on earth, prayed for something as well. He asked the Father to let Him get out of dying on the cross, that is if there was any other way to provide salvation. In fact, He also prayed three times. He continued to ask, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44-46). He did not get what He asked for. What’s the deal here? Why did Paul and not even Jesus get what they asked for in prayer?
Perhaps Jesus did not intend for us to take His above statements the way that some have taken them. When we look elsewhere, we see that there are conditions on the receiving. Jesus also said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The condition is that if we have a relationship with Christ and live by His words, then we will receive what we ask. The apostle John said, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:21-22). He also said “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15). Basically, we are only guaranteed to receive if we have a relationship with Christ. We must have a relationship with Him, be obedient to Him, and the request must fall in line with God’s will. Now we see that what we can get has its limits.
What about just attaining something on our own? Maybe we would like to accomplish forgiveness of sins and earn salvation. John said that, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). You cannot achieve forgiveness without asking God for it, nor can you attain salvation without Christ. Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Paul said, “by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). There are some things that we cannot accomplish and some things we cannot attain through prayer. No matter how hard you try or pray, you cannot be saved without surrendering your life to Christ.
There is a new movement called “The Secret” that teaches something counter to the way the Lord works. It teaches that as long as you have the right positive thoughts or send out enough positive energy to the Universe, you will control your life. It is the same with those of the Word Faith and Prosperity Gospel movement. If you just have enough faith, then you will be in control. However, it is the Lord who is in control.
You see—prayer is not about getting what you want. Sometimes we see prayer as a way to conform God to our will. Jesus said that we should pray “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). Prayer is not about our wants. It is about what God wants and how God can change our lives. Paul did say, “I can do all things” (Philippians 4:13). But it was “all things through Him,” that is Christ (Philippians 4:11). We can accomplish great things, but only what is within God’s will for our lives. What it really comes down to is that we need to learn to be Spirit led. “But I say, walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). It does not matter how much success you have attained, what kind of house you live in, if you were married, what kind of car you drove, if you had kids, if people respected you, if you had lots of friends, made lots of money, or became famous. What matters is did you do what God wanted you to do. Someone can be famous or unknown and both succeed in God’s eyes. They can also both fail in God’s eyes. Real success is being Spirit led. In being Spirit led, you will always get what you’re seeking. It is this reason we are told, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The question is whose will are you seeking?
