OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: MONDAY, MAY 22ND 2017- ASKING FOR NOTHING? 

Memorise: Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24
Read: Luke 15:25-32
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Bible in one year: Acts 3-4, Jeremiah 33:12-26

1. The benefits you derive from a person depends on how much that individual has and on how desperate you are to receive.
2. If God is the One you need something from, then you are dealing with the Almighty God who has all things and who can do all things.
3. Before approaching God, you need to first determine what you want and how much of it you want from Him. If your response is to ask God for nothing, I am afraid you will leave empty-handed. James 4:2 says, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet have not, because ye ask not.”
4. In John 16:24, after several years together, the Lord addressed His disciples one day and said something that should shock us: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
5. They lived, ate and slept with the Fountain of living waters, yet they failed to drink from it. Some people take contentment to the extreme. They think it is covetousness to ask God for anything decent, whereas God is waiting for them to ask.
6. How much have you asked from God? Are you like the disciples who asked for nothing? They asked for nothing at a time when others, who were not even walking with Jesus, were already using His Name to get benefits from Heaven (Luke 9:49-50).
7. Even God knows that having nothing is not good for you.
8. The container of joy of the fellow who asks for nothing will always remain empty, whereas God wants it to overflow.
9. In the parable of the prodigal son, the senior son is another example of those who swim in abundance but hardly ever ask for a bit of it. When his younger brother returned and his father declared a feast, he was annoyed. How could his father slaughter a cow to celebrate his brother’s return, whereas he had not even had a ram to celebrate his birthday with his friends? This was one major difference between the two brothers. While he never asked for the least of all he was entitled to, his brother did not mind exceeding his limits. The younger brother had asked for all he could get from his father and wasted it, and yet on his return, the father kept spending on his account. Whose cow was being slaughtered for the prodigal son? It was definitely that of the elder brother.
10. This teaches us that what you fail to ask for may be taken over by those who ask.
11. God gave you a mouth with which to ask.
12. Ask and ask big! From today, as you ask, God will answer you speedily in Jesus’ Name.

A closed mouth can be likened to or said to be equal to a closed destiny. “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.” Matthew 7:7‭-‬8. This scripture makes it clear that until you ask before you receive. As human beings we also don’t give out things atimes until we are asked. This also applies to our heavenly Father. Some do not know they have to ask and so they suffer in ignorance. Thank God for the knowledge we gain daily as we study this devotional. Now that it is clearly known to us that we need to ask for us to get, let us utilise our mouth in asking the father who so much love us to give His only begotten Son. We can be sure of receiving from Him as we ask in faith. Blessed be God for Pastor E.A Adeboye. We ask that may he flourish more in the things of God in Jesus name.

Key Point
When we get to Heaven and some people see what they asked for in comparison with what they could have asked for, they will feel seriously cheated.
HYMN
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
 

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