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PROGRAM D-8183
In all areas of our lives we have to ask for things if we’re ever going to get what we need, succeed at our jobs, complete our tasks. . . whatever! Of course, we don’t always get what we ask for, do we?
What are some of the reasons that we don’t get what we ask for? In James 4:3 we are told:
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Motives—what are our motives for asking? Receiving what we ask for depends largely on why we are asking for it. We must examine our motives. Asking God—or anyone else, for that matter—for frivolous things—unnecessary things that are simply for our own selfish desires—just doesn’t motivate God or people to want to grant our requests.
I remember a woman asking me to pray that God would send her a husband. In itself that’s not a bad request, but her whole motivation was selfish: I want a husband to take care of me. I don’t like being single. God owes me a husband. That was her attitude, and it wouldn’t impress God or anyone else, I don’t think.
Secondly, we sometimes don’t get what we ask for because we don’t know how to ask. For example, be specific in what you ask for. If you need some money for a very good reason—not because you’ve been a poor steward of your money—you should be clear about why you need the money, how it will be used, and how much you really need. If you’re asking someone to donate money to a good cause, be prepared to give a good explanation of how the money will be used and the good it will do.
When you’re asking for a change in circumstances—like a better work environment—instead of asking that the boss make the situation better for you, ask for the change because it will benefit the company or organization. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and ask yourself what would motivate that person to want to grant your request.
The power of asking: it’s really important to learn how to ask—this includes how to ask God and how to ask people for legitimate requests.