2025-05-24: 6th Sunday - Ask in My Name

Introduction

"Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:24)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

These verses contain two things:

Commandments - Ask, Seek, Knock

Promises - your joy may be full, it will be given to you, you will find, etc.

And it's easy for us to hear these verses and think... I asked before and I did not receive. Or I sought and I did not find. Or I knocked and it was not opened for me. And this could be something I am struggling with... does God hear my prayer? And if so, why doesn't He respond?

It might be that He didn't respond yet.

It might be that He responded but I didn't like His response.

It might be that He responded but I didn't recognize His response.

But how should I pray? How should I approach God with my troubles, my anxieties, and my requests?

1 - Ask, Believing

"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:22)

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting..." (James 1:6)

Faith is not demanding outcomes from God, it is trusting the One we ask

Faith (Believing) includes works because faith without works is dead
- Umbrella example
- Works:
  - Pursuing Godliness, reading the Scripture, hearing sermons, asking myself "what is God asking me to do?" Live a certain way, follow His commandments
  - Consistence in Spiritual Disciplines
  - Consistence in Liturgical Participation

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;" (James 1:6-7)

Example: Centurion who wanted Christ to heal his servant

Counterexample: St Peter walking on water: "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." - "When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid..." and he started to sink

2 - Ask Persistently

Parable of the persistent widow

Parable of "Friend at midnight" (Luke 11)

"Men always ought to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1)

Persistence changes us before it changes circumstances

Christ prayed the same prayer three times

St Paul asked three times for the thorn in the flesh to be taken away

"And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?" (Luke 18:7)

Sometimes we think of it backwards...
- If I keep asking and it doesn't happen, that means it's not going to happen
- God says the opposite... be persistent!

Example: Persistent Widow

3 - Ask for God's Will

Sometimes we ask for things that are not the best for us; not in our best interest

"If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (1 John 5:14)

Example:
- King Solomon - asking for wisdom

4 - Pure Motive

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3)

Not every desire is holy merely because it is prayed

"The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16-18)

5 - Ask Humbly

Pharisee and Tax Collector

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Some Prayers that were Accepted and Answered

Prayer of Hannah the mother of Samuel - asking with faith

Prayer of Solomon for wisdom - asking for God's will

Prayer of Elijah - "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16-18)

Canaanite Woman - persistence

Some Prayers that were Answered in Other Ways

Saint Paul asked for the thorn in the flesh to be taken away... the answer he got "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Moses asked to enter the Promised Land... the answer he got was "You will see it from the outside... and also you will see My Salvation with the prophetic eye... and you will see Me in the Transfiguration."