October 7

Believing Prayer

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. — Matt 21:22 BSB

There are other scriptures that qualify the promise of answered prayer. First, not all asking is true prayer, and therefore not all asking receives. James says, "You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, to spend it on your pleasures." A person might ask for money, not to use it for God's glory or for others, but for their own selfish desires. The Psalmist also says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." In other words, if someone is holding on to secret sin while trying to serve God, their prayers will not be heard or answered. These are just two examples of asking that will not receive an answer.

There are also conditions. One is that we must ask in Christ's name. This means believing in Christ as our Savior and being His faithful followers, which gives us the right to use His name. This limits the promise to true followers of Christ. Another condition is that we must abide in Christ, and His words must abide in us. This creates a double "if." Even a Christian who is distant from Christ does not fully enter into this promise.

Another important qualification for all promises regarding prayer is that God Himself is the judge of what we ask. He knows whether what we ask would truly be a blessing or not. There may be things we want very badly, but it could be unkind of God to give them to us. Is God bound by His promise to give us whatever we ask for? Absolutely not. The Lord will give what is good. "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." But even to the most upright, He will withhold things that, in His divine wisdom, He knows would not be good for them. This is always implied in His promises.