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Core Belief #8: 
Ask and You Shall Receive
by Marnie L. Pehrson

No other generation has had more information at its fingertips than ours. No other people have had more gadgets and gizmos, exotic fruits and vegetables, and clothing available to them just by going to a local superstore. We ask and we quite easily receive. Sure, things cost money, but how many of our ancestors could've comprehended the selection placed before us at a typical grocery store?

Not only that, but we're accustomed to sitting on our couches and being entertained. We're a "feed me" generation. There is very little seeking, hungering, or thirsting going on. Yet, true enlightenment only comes when we hunger and thirst (Matthew 5:6). When Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given unto you" He also said, "seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

Receiving is an action verb and it requires work (seeking, knocking, and moving our feet)! Anything of value requires sacrifice. If we expect to gain greater understanding, wisdom and true joy in life, we must work for it. We must be willing to delay some gratification to receive what we want.

Ask with Clarity

Start with a desire - an intense desire. If you don't know what you want, you'll never be able to find it. Most of us only have a vague and misty concept of what we want. That's not good enough. A hungry man knows he wants food. A thirsty woman knows she wants water. They can ask specifically for what they want. Until you get the clarity of a thirsty desert traveler seeking water, you won't get answers. If you can't get clear about what you want and why you want it, then you're like a person in a restaurant who keeps waffling between menu items, never able to come to a decision. Until you place an order, the waiter can't bring you your food.

Feel Expectant Gratitude

The thing about seeking is that most of us do it in a state of panic like a tardy employee frantically searching for her car keys in the morning. The harder we seek and the more we grasp, the more elusive the thing remains.

If we're approaching our search for a marriage partner or our quest for financial security in this frantic, needy state, we actually repel what we're looking for. The single most powerful emotion we should feel while seeking is gratitude. If we replace our anxious, panicked feelings with expectant gratitude, everything starts to flow.

"Gratitude for what?" you might ask. Not only must we feel gratitude for what we already have, but also we should feel gratitude for what is on its way to us. There's a stark difference between being expectantly grateful for the answer ahead of time and frantically searching with doubts and fears about the outcome.

Whenever you hunger, thirst, seek and knock remember to do so with expectant gratitude for the answer that is already on its way to you.

Hearken

I like the Biblical word hearken because it means not only to listen, but also to act upon what we're told. Receiving requires hearkening - intending to act upon whatever answer we receive. If we have no real intention of acting, then why bother asking? Too many people do the first part of the receiving process, but then are unwilling to act upon the answers. If you don't act, you won't receive.

But acting doesn't always mean some huge undertaking. Usually it's just a small incremental change. Listen for the answers, the little gut feelings, the still small voice that tells you to do this or that. You never know what great things will happen from a small action. If you think of an airplane, you'll see how a small adjustment - even a single degree change in trajectory - will alter the destination of the airliner. It's the same with your life.

Listen, ponder and be willing to make those small changes. Most of our answers don't come in a bolt of lightning or some great life-altering event. As Elijah said, the Lord wasn't in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. He was in the still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12).

Release It

Once you've asked with real intent and with expectant gratitude, let go of it. Go about your business with a listening ear and a watchful eye. It may take time to receive your answers. Release your need to control when, how, or from where answers come. Release your need to control who else is involved. None of these questions are yours to micromanage. You simply control what you want and why you want it. Leave the rest to God.

Quite often enlightenment comes in a bread trail . . . line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10,13). It may take days, weeks, months or even years for the answers to come, but know this - they will come. They always arrive in the perfect time and way. Most likely, they'll come in a way that not only serves you, but serves others as well. God is a master economist. He always helps more than one person at a time.

Just remember, the skill of asking and receiving takes practice. I'd highly recommend asking God to help you learn the language of revelation. You can learn it best in the scriptures. Immerse yourself in them. I've also had wonderful experiences by asking the Lord to "teach me how to think" and to help me see my life/business/relationships through His eyes. Try integrating these requests into your prayers and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

If you like this, you'll probably like You're Here for a Reason: Discover & Live Your Purpose. Get the first fifty pages for FREE here.

1. You Can Tap a Power that Makes You Extraordinary
2. We Are All Connected
3. Look for the Good
4. There's Always a Silver Lining
5. There is No Scarcity, Only Abundance
6. Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters
7. Everything Happens for a Purpose
8. Ask and You Shall Receive
9. We Are Eternal Beings in a Mortal Training Ground