Why Do I Ask?

As a kid, I always asked my parents for things. Things such as toys, new clothes, the latest electronics, and money. I always thought that once I ask, I’ll receive it right away. I thought that that was how God worked, ask and I’ll receive right away.

There are many Christians out there that ask but don’t receive. Why? Because they don’t have the right heart. I realized that most of my requests to God weren’t being answered. I kept questioning why He would do that.

I thought He listened then brushed it off. Then, I realized that I wasn’t asking because I needed those things. I asked because I wanted them.

Growing up in a Christian school I was very exposed to “The Lord’s Prayer”.

It’s located in Matthew 6:9-13 it says:

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

I always thought that it was just another thing to memorize until January 1, 2012. After all those years I soon realized that there was a deeper meaning to it. I’ve studied these verses but it was just a quick brief about what it was, I never really dug deep into what it really meant.

The first day of this year I entered the gym (where we have our youth service) not expecting anything. As I was listening to my pastor she focused on these verses and I realized that there was more to those words that came out of my mouth. I thought of it as a slap in the face. Something that I’ve been doing for so long and not knowing what it meant really hit me hard. She said this one line in her sermon, “God doesn’t answer because we’re doubtful.”

I think that this hit me hard because I wasn’t asking God for the right things. It was just for me, me, and me. She helped me realize that God only answers our prayers when we have the right heart. We don’t need to use big words or be in a certain place at a certain time. We just need to have the right mind and heart.

My pastor explained 3 reasons why God doesn't answer our prayers.

1. Because of the unconfessed sins in our lives.

Isaiah 59:1-2:

¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. ² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

2. Because of our own doubt.

James 1:6-7:

⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

3. Because we have the wrong motives.

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James 4:2-3:

² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

"The greatest prayer anyone can pray is, “They will be done.”"

-Lehman Strauss, Sense and Nonsense about Prayer