How does one really ask in prayer?

How Does One Really Ask in Prayer?

To pray one must really ask. "Ye have not, because ye ask not" (Jas. 4:2). "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Lk. 11:9-10).

"Knock, and it shall be opened unto you," says the Lord. But I had been knocking on the wall! The Lord will not open the wall for you, for He does not know what you really want. If you are truly knocking on the door, He will surely open it for you. If you ask for one thing, the Lord will give that thing to you. Suppose there are several things here: a hymn book, a cup, a Bible, a table cloth and a fountain pen. What do you really want? "Seek," says the Lord. You cannot ask God for a department store; you must ask for something definite.

"Ye have not, because ye ask not." Asking needs to be specific. This is what both seeking and knocking signify. It is seeking for one particular object; it is knocking on the door, not on the wall. Many may pray for a whole week and yet not have asked for a single thing. They do not receive because they have not asked. They have the form of prayer, but they lack the object of asking.

Young Christians should learn how to pray specifically. Do not imitate some brothers who stand and pray in the church for twenty minutes or half an hour but, when asked later what have they prayed for, are at a loss to answer. Many learn to pray long prayers, but yet do not know how to pray for definite things.

Suppose you ask your father or husband or wife or child to get you something. You must tell him or her what it is that you want. Can a doctor go to a pharmacy to obtain a drug without saying what drug he wants? Can one go to the market and not know what to buy? How strange it is for men to come to God’s presence without anything definite in mind—just as if anything will do. The difficulty or hindrance to prayer lies in this particular respect. We must ask specifically, not just generally.

Beginners should be clear about this condition of prayer. Otherwise, in times of difficulty they will not be able to pray through. General prayer does not meet a specific need. It may do for ordinary days, but it will not be sufficient when need arises. If our prayer is general in nature, we shall find no help in our hour of need, for then our problems and happenings are all very specific. Only by learning to pray specifically can we have specific experience to meet specific difficulty.

My prayer is this: reveal 12 apostles in agreement. If this is not specific enough, then my prayer is show me one other informal apostle who will agree or even one Elder who submits a meeting place in agreement and in harmony with Biblical locality. Lord I only ask for one other for now!