In Believing part 3
Here it is, as simple as I can make it: "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:22). And this doesn't mean we can ask for any old thing, say we believe it, and it'll happen. You can't say, "God, can I have a million dollars?" "Believe" it, and expect it to happen. Prayer isn't treating God like a genie. Rub the lamp and get three wishes. Look at John 14:13-14, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." Now don't get it twisted, this doesn't mean we say, "Can I be a millionaire, in Jesus' name?" and think its a done deal. That's not what asking in His name means. Because name is nature. Its about asking for what He would ask for. The Son is all about glorifying the Father. Making Daddy proud, if I can say it that way. And, listen, I truly believe that our heavenly Father loves us and is well pleased in us. Because that's how I feel about MY son. I love him no matter what. I'm pleased in him because he's mine. But there are times when that boy REALLY fills up my pride meter. Normally when he displays his heart. When he's kind. Loving. That stuff fires me up. Like when people tell me my kid is polite, or well behaved. I always SAY, "Thank you." But I always THINK, "You're welcome." Because that's on purpose. Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go, right? So asking in Jesus' name isn't about asking for stuff for you. Jesus' name--or nature--is love. And love is giving. God lavishes gifts upon His children, but He blesses us so that we can be a blessing. He gave us the abudant life so that we can live out of our abundance. You can't give what you don't have, right? And you can only give what you do have. So if God wants us to give it, He first has to give it to us. So that we have it. So that we CAN give it. Believing that we shall receive "whatsoever" we pray for has to be built on a correct understanding of prayer. Praying in His name. Asking in His name. GIVING in His name. That's what fires our heavenly Father up. That's what glorifies Him. And let me ask you this: If you ask something in Jesus' name--love nature--why wouldn't He do it? Why would God withhold something that He wants us to have anyway? That He has, in fact, already given to us. Its not about asking for something we don't have. Its about understanding that we already do have everything we need. One more memory verse for tonight: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread" (Psalm 37:25). There's such a big difference between wants and needs. My God shall supply all your NEED according to His riches and glory. But if we're trying to "believe" our way into getting what we want... that's not really anything. So in believing, we need to have RIGHT believing. Believe the right thing, and watch it come to pass. Watch it manifest in our lives. The right thing, by the way, is love!