All
things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will
receive."
- Matthew 21:22
There
are other scriptures qualifying this. In the first place, it is not all asking
that is really praying, and therefore not all asking that receives. St. James
says, ” Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it
upon your lusts. ” A man asks for money, not to use it for the glory of God and
the good of others, but for his own glory and pleasure. Again, the Psalmist
says, ” If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” That is,
if one is cherishing a secret sin in his heart while he is trying to serve God,
no prayers that he offers will be heard or answered. So here are at least two
kinds of asking that will not bring an answer.
Then
there are conditions. One is that we must ask in Christ's name. That implies
that we believe in Christ as our Savior, and are His faithful friends, and
therefore have a right to use His name. This condition narrows down the promise
to the true followers of Christ. Another condition is that we are abiding in
Christ, and His words are abiding in us. So there is a double ” if” . Even a
Christian who is following afar off does not come within the circle of this
promise.
Then
there is another qualification which belongs to all promises to prayer. God
Himself must be the judge as to the things we ask, whether they would really be
blessings to us or not. There may be things we desire very earnestly that it
would be the greatest unkindness to grant us. Is God then bound by this promise
to give us what we crave? By no means. What is good the Lord will give. ” No
good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” But He will withhold
even from the most upright the things which in His Divine wisdom He sees would
not be good things. This is implied in every such promise as
this.