Ask by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

What "Ask" Really Means

The Old Testament is the background for New Testament writing, and the New Testament is the interpretation of the Old. New Testament words were first Old Testament words — meaning we don't find the meaning of words from a dictionary. Bible words have Bible meaning.

Matthew 7:7 — "Ask and it will be given to you." But when you look at the same teaching in Luke 11:9–13, Jesus makes it plain: how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? The asking in Matthew 7:7 is asking for the Spirit. That is the context.

John 16:23–24 — "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you... Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full." That joy is not about getting things. Tracing "joy" through the Old Testament — Psalm 48:1–2, Isaiah 12:3 — joy is always connected to salvation. Joy is a person: the resurrected Christ.

When he says "ask that your joy may be full," he is saying: ask for salvation.

It's not a blank cheque.

Praying in God's Will

1 John 5:14 — "This is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." If you are not praying in his will, he is not hearing. So how can he answer?

God answers prayers that he tells you to pray. When Elijah called down rain, it was because God said, "I will send rain" — 1 Kings 18:1. If God did not tell you, rain will not fall.

• When Daniel prayed for Israel's release from Babylon, he started praying after he found it in Jeremiah 25:11–12 — 70 years of captivity. He aligned his prayer with the revealed will of God.
• When Moses interceded for Israel in Exodus 32, he prayed from the will of God — reminding God of the promise made to Abraham.

The first thing to look for in prayer is not answers. It's the will of God.

Once you find scriptures that align with what you are believing God for, put them on your lips. But also study the principles governing those scriptures — what God was producing through that situation.

Asking In His Name vs. With His Name

John 14:13 — "Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified." The key phrase is in my name, not with my name.

Asking in the name of Jesus means you are collecting something for Jesus to use. It means the request will result in the Father being glorified. Don't go to God asking for something you will use for your own pleasure and attach his name to it as leverage. That is using his name, not asking in it.

It is purpose before blessing. Not blessing before purpose.

How God Answers

God answers prayer for two reasons:

1. Because of who is praying — you are his child. As a responsible father, he doesn't give you what you want; he gives what is best for you. If he didn't give it, it's not good for you.
2. Because of what you are praying about — God will never give you anything outside his will.

When plans are failing, God's counsel is standing. There are no closed doors for the child of God — only wrong doors. "Lo, I have set before you an open door."

The Altar of Sacrifice

Answers are often not in the place of prayer. They are on the altar of sacrifice.

In Genesis 22, it was when Abraham lifted the knife over Isaac that God said, "In your seed shall all nations be blessed." In Genesis 9, it was when Noah sacrificed that God made a covenant never to destroy the world again. Not prayer — sacrifice.

The premise for getting your request met is receiving instructions in the place of prayer and meeting others' needs on the altar of sacrifice.

If you ask God to give you two million, he may ask you to give someone two hundred thousand first. There are keys in the kingdom. Understand the system and start appropriating it.

Father, give me a heart of flesh — a heart that can hear what you are saying, a heart that you can command. Give me a heart of flesh. Walk on my heart. In Jesus' name. Amen.