ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

Memory Verse: Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Songs of Solomon 1-2
Jesus, in John 16:24, said: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” When it comes to asking and receiving, there are certain things we have to consider. For instance, receiving is dependent on who you ask. Man is very limited but God is not.Psalm 108:12 says: “give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” According to Jeremiah 17:5, anyone who puts his trust in man and makes human flesh his strength is doomed. Thank God there is a God who can do all things. According to Luke 1:37, with God nothing shall be impossible. Receiving is dependent on how you ask. Jesus whilst teaching His disciples how to pray taught them to start with praise and thanksgiving (Matthew 6:5-13). Verse 9 says: “in this manner, therefore pray: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name”. One of the synonyms for the word 'hallow' is praise. The first thing that mad man of Gadara did when he got to Jesus was he worshiped Him (Mark 5:1-19). Verse 6 says: “when he saw Jesus from far, he ran and worshiped Him”. Worshiping is one of the keys to receiving from God. Also, receiving is dependent on the time of asking. If you ask at the wrong time, you may not receive anything. Isaiah 55:6 says: “seek ye the Lord whilst He may be found, call ye upon him while he is near”. Proverbs 8:17 says: “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me”.

There are several reasons why people don’t like to ask. For instance, people don't like to ask questions to hide their ignorance. It is better to ask a stupid question than to make a stupid mistake. Many of the challenges people are facing today could have been avoided if only they asked questions or sought counseling. Proverbs 15:22 says: “without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” Another reason why many don’t ask is because they don’t want to disturb people. Some even feel by asking God for a thing over and over again they are disturbing God. The bible says ask until your joy is full. Some believe since God knows what they want there is no point asking Him again. God knows what you want but He still expects you to ask Him for it. Matthew 7:7 says: “ask, and it will be given to you....” Some of us expect people to know what we want and give them to us. Friend, people cannot read your mind. Besides, they have a lot of things going on in their mind so it is better you ask. One major reason why people don’t ask for help especially from their friends is because they don’t want people to take glory over their lives. What is most important thing to me is i get the help i need. Whether you take glory or not is not an issue to me; help is all i need. After rendering the help you can tell the whole world you helped bro Samuel no problem. At one point or the other in your life, someone will have to take glory for something they did for you anyway.

NOTE: Before asking, start by thanking God for all He has done for you in the times past. Don’t just go to Him and say I want this; I want that. Start by worshiping Him.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

HOW TO ASK ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

MEMORY VERSE: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1 John 5:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:89-104, Proverbs 31:9, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 

If you want God to answer your prayers, there are certain conditions you must meet. One of them is you must ask according to His will. 1 John 5:14 says this: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” One of the reasons why God does not respond to some of the prayers offered today is because it is not according to His will. Sister, it is not in God’s will that your mother-in-law should die. God is not a murderer! Therefore, if you are praying that God should kill her, i can assure you that God will not answer that prayer. The will of God for her is to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savoir - if she is yet to do so and you two live in peace. Ezekiel 18:32 says this: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” It is also not in God’s will that something terrible should happen to that traffic warden who gave you a parking ticket. The traffic warden was doing his job. If you had parked properly, you would not have been served with a parking fine. Moreover, God will not kill him or her for you because He is not a traffic warden killer! 

How does one ask according to God’s will? Firstly, pray in tongues. Paul said, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14). You see, when it comes to prayer, everyone one of us has an infirmity. The infirmity/weakness is “we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26-27). How does the Spirit of God help us to overcome this infirmity? He takes over and makes intercession through us, praying according to the will of God. Therefore, when you pray in tongues, it is not you praying but the spirit of God making intercession through you. The next time you wake up in the middle of the night with a burden to pray and you do not know what to pray for, just start praying in tongues. One of the advantages of praying in tongues is that you can do it anywhere - whilst driving your children home, whilst having picnic with your friend, whilst waiting in a queue, in a courtroom, exam room, bathroom, just name it. You do not even need to close your eyes when praying in tongues. Another advantage of praying in tongues is that no one knows what you are praying about; even the demons do not know it. 

Secondly, pray in accordance with God’s word. The only place where you will find God’s will is inside His word i.e. the bible. The great revelation of the will of God is the Word of God. Moreover, the Word of God is packed from the beginning to end with divine promises. These promises of God are the will of God. This is how to pray in accordance with the word of God. When you find a promise that relates to your situation and meets your need, that promise is God’s will for you.  God never promised anything that was not His will; anything else would be inconsistent. Suppose a particular challenge keeps re-occurring. Nahum 1:9 says this: “What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” You go to God and say, “Father, Your word says 'affliction shall not rise up the second time,' please let this challenge never re-occurred again.” As you pray earnestly and in tongues, God will see to it that the challenge never re-occurs again.   

HINT: What you are doing when you pray in accordance with the scripture is you are saying to God “do as You have said” 

NOTE: One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is unforgiveness. Forgive first before going to God with your requests.  

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus. 

AND GOD SAID, ASK WHAT I SHALL GIVE THEE

MEMORY VERSE: and the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 1 Kings 3:4-5.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Daniel 1-3

Whether a man will succeed in life or not will be determined by how he treats opportunities that comes his way. But, to take advantage of an opportunity, one must be able to identify the opportunity first. Hagar thirsted, not because of lack of water but because she could not identify the well nearby (Genesis 21:15-17). The widow struggled to pay her debts, not because God was against her but because she could not see the potential in her oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). There are a lot struggling today, simply because they cannot identify the opportunities around them.

Any time God wants to give a man breakthrough – financially, materially, spiritually, etc, He will start by throwing an opportunity to give at him. Take for instance Solomon, before he was born, God already purposed it in His mind to bless him. No wonder when he was born, God gave him the name , Jedidah , which means beloved of the Most High ( 2 Samuel 12:25). When his season of breakthrough came, God threw an opportunity to give a thousand burnt offerings at him. 1 Kings 3:4-5 says and the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. From the day, Solomon gave that thousand burnt offerings, his life never remained the same. Some months ago, a sister shared a testimony with me. She needed money to buy somethings, she had 9,000 naira on her but it was not enough. One day, while she was praying, the Lord told her to give that 9,000 naira as an offering and she did. Few days later, a family friend (she had not spoken to in months) called from abroad and said, ‘the Lord laid it on my mind to send some money to you.’ By the time she received the money, she was speechless. As a young boy, one of my desires was to study in England. My parents wanted the same too but the resources to make that a reality was not available. One day, the Lord laid it on my mind to buy a megaphone for our church and i obeyed. On receiving the megaphone, the pastor prophesied that i was going to study abroad ( mind you , i never told him of my intention to travel )’. Few months later, I was on the plane to England to study. Anytime God wants to give a man breakthrough, He will start by giving the fellow an opportunity to sow a powerful seed. Has God laid it on your mind to give something special to Him? Do not hesitate; you could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime.

PRAYER: Father, please help me never to miss an opportunity again in my life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

MEMORY VERSE: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you, Matthew 7:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 6, Ps 40-41, Sng 4, Heb 4

The onus of asking rests on you. James 4:2 says ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. God rarely gives people what they don't ask for. When you study the bible closely, you will find that almost everyone who the Lord gave something they did not ask for disappointed God. Virtually all of them did not appreciate what God gave to them, they abused what was given to them and most of them used it as an opportunity to sin against God. Nine times out of ten, God actually regretted giving them what they did not ask for. Starting from Adam, out of noble intentions God decided to give him a wife. Although he did not ask God for it, God felt the need for this man to have a companion – someone he could hold hands with and talk to, someone he could share his love and affections with. What did Adam do after eating the forbidden fruit? He literally told God told to His face that He made him sin. He told God in Genesis 3:12, the woman you gave to me offered me the forbidden fruit and I ate.

Solomon did the same thing. All he asked for was wisdom but God decided to be generous towards this young man and He gave him wealth – something he did not ask for. When Solomon got hold of money, what did he do? He began to marry women. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines! He so wasted the money, he himself confessed in Ecclesiastes 2:10 that, anything he wanted, he took and did not deny himself of any pleasure. God decided that the best way is that men should ask and he will only give them what they ask for. That was how Matthew 7:7 which says: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you came about. 

There are several ways to ask for a thing. Actions they say speak louder than words. Even the elders have saying, actions breeds’ reactions. Luke 6:38 says give and it shall come back to you. When you give, you are simply asking for God to give back to you and it has been proven that those who give always have something to give. According to Exodus 20:12, when you obey your parents you are asking God for long life and prosperity. Matthew 5:7 says blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. When you are mercy to people, you are simply asking God to be merciful to you. Proverbs 8:17 says those who love Me, I love. When you love God, you are simply asking God to love you in return. How does a man love a God? John 14:21 says he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. John 14:15 says if you love me, keep my commands. When you keep God’s commands, you are showing Him love and asking Him to love you in return. One of the commandments of God is Go ye into the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation, Mark 16:15. Ever since you have giving your life to Christ, you have never won a soul for Jesus and you say you love Him. This year alone, you have not witnessed to a soul and you are singing that you are a friend of God, are you really a friend of God?

QUESTION: Since all our actions are a requests before God, what are you asking from God?

I AM MY BELOVED’S

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 28, Matt 27, Esth 4, Acts 27

Songs of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies.

What the Shulamite woman meant by I am my beloved’s is I no longer own myself again, I belong to my beloved. She was saying i am no longer in charge of my body, my time and resources. What she was saying was that I have giving up my identity and taken the identity of my beloved in other words i have become invisible so that my beloved will become visible. What she saying was that I having giving my aspirations, my past, present and future, even my decision making to my beloved. In other words I have giving all to my beloved. After giving up everything, the next thing she said was ‘and my beloved is mine’ which means I own all my beloved has. This woman had to first give herself to get her beloved in return.

There are one or two lessons to learn from this verse. Firstly, to get anything you must be ready to give yourself to it. There is a price for everything. There is a price for success, good husband or wife, good home, even to get to heaven. The price to get to heaven is by been born again. John 3:3 says except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. To get anything in life you must ready to give all. Secondly, whatever you will own will be determined by what you are willing to give. God is not a respecter of persons but a respecter of principles, Acts 10:34.There are two important principles for receiving anything in life- giving and asking. Luke 6:38 says give and it shall be given unto you. It is only when you give that you can expect something in return. There are many who go to God with long list of prayer requests daily but they are not ready to give up their time to serve in the vine yard of God or evangelize. That is not how things work in the kingdom of God. Even God had to give something to save our soul. John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave. The second principle is asking. Matthew 7:8 says ask, and it shall be given you. You only stand a chance of receiving when you ask. Brethren, after giving you are required to ask. God knows all your needs before you come to Him, but He expects you to ask. God knew what Solomon was going to ask Him, but He still said to him ‘ask, what I shall give thee, 2 Chronicles 1:7’. The bible says ask not complain. It says ask not grumble or get angry at God. We are limited by request! The reason why many get into problem is because they do not seek counsel or ask questions. It is not a sin not to know actually there is a saying which goes it is better to ask a stupid question than to make a stupid mistake. Proverbs 15:22 says without counsel purposes are disappointed. Proverbs 11:14 says in the multitude of counselors there is safety. How did the Shulamite get her beloved? She gave herself, Songs of Solomon 6:3.After that she asked for her beloved. The whole book of Song of Solomon is filled with the Shulamite asking for her beloved. How can I get Christ on my side? Firstly give yourself to Him and secondly ask Him to come to you. It is impossible to have Christ by your side if you are not willing to give yourself to Him. It will be a waste of time to give yourself to Him and not ask Him to come into your life or challenges . Matthew 7:8 says for everyone that asketh recieveth. Before you go and ask, ensure that are truly His.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I want you in every facet of my life.