Articles
You Do Not Know What You Ask
A mother humbly came to Jesus with a request. As she knelt at His feet, He asked what she wanted. With her sons at her side, she asked Jesus for exalted places for them in His kingdom (Mt 20:20-21). Jesus’ answer shows the great gulf that often separates our outlook from God’s: “You do not know what you ask” (20:22). As we scan the Scriptures, this seems to be a common thread regardless of the era. Our perspective is just too limited, selfish, sinful or otherwise corrupted to even know what to ask of God (Rom 8:26).
Note the following examples:
Abraham. “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” (Gn 17:18). On this occasion God reiterates to Abraham that he will be “exceedingly fruitful” and nations and kings would come from his posterity. The problem: Abraham was 99 years old when this conversation took place, and the only child that he produced thus far was not with Sarah but with Hagar.
When God specifies that Sarah would bear a son, Abraham’s faith is stretched to the limits of his human reasoning: “Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (17:17). It is at this point that Abraham appeals to God to accept Ishmael, his thirteen year old son, as the foundation of the covenant promises. God’s answer: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (17:19). Abraham looked only at his few remaining years and saw a disconnect between God’s promises and biological reality. Twenty-four years had passed since Abraham left Haran for Canaan (Gn 12:4), and at this late date Ishmael seemed like the most logical choice to fulfill God’s promises. But such was not God’s plan. God already foresaw the future – from our perspective the rest of OT history: the twelve tribes; Egyptian bondage; the law at Sinai; wilderness wandering; conquest of Canaan … etc. Abraham could not fathom what lay beyond his horizon. Thus, his request of God was misguided.
Moses. “Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter” (Dt 3:26). Earlier, Moses had allowed his frustration with Israel to boil over, and he responded to them in a way that disrespected God (Num 20:1-13). Consequently, God barred Moses from the promised land (cf. also Num 27:12-23). What an incredible disappointment! While all sin produces judicial guilt, it varies in temporal consequences. For reasons we may not fully understand, God determined that Moses’ sin was so significant that it deserved extreme punishment.
After forty years of grueling wilderness wandering, as Israel neared the land of Canaan, the more distressed Moses became over not being able to finish the task. He made his final appeal to God: “I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, these pleasant mountains, and Lebanon” (Dt 3:25). But as faithful as Moses was (Num 12:7-8), his petition angered God. While God forbade him to mention it again, He made a gracious concession by allowing Moses to see Canaan from the top of Mt. Nebo. Scripture shows that while sometimes God’s mind can be changed, sometimes it can’t. We may not know what God’s ultimate will is in a given matter, but we certainly must not pray against what He has already definitively decreed (viz., to pray for salvation for someone who clearly lived a life of unbelief and wickedness).
Paul. “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9). Paul is reflecting on some malady that ailed him; speculation abounds as to what it might have been. Paul calls it a “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me” (12:7). Whatever it was obviously caused distress, and Paul prayed that it would be taken away: “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me” (12:8). Note that both Moses and Paul “pleaded” their case with God. These matters had great impact in their lives, and there is a desperation for God to respond.
But again, the Lord looks differently upon Paul’s thorn than he does. First, the malady served a purpose that Paul didn’t initially see: “lest I be exalted above measure” (12:7). The visions Paul had been given of the third heaven had the potential of creating pride (12:1-6), and Paul was kept humble by this physical irritant.
Second, Jesus told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). Humans are always weak in comparison with God, but throughout history God often deliberately chose to accomplish great things through resources that were clearly inadequate, thus glorifying Himself and not the instrument. When Paul opens his mind to this truth, his attitude toward the thorn changes: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10). Sometimes we need a change in our thinking rather than a change in our circumstances.
James’ readers. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas 4:3). Notice that they “ask”; that is, they are praying and seeking things from God, but they do so from corrupt motives. This illustrates the power of self-deception. Even those who fancy themselves to be people of God and pray to Him may have succumbed to carnal cravings. Their requests, while probably rationalized by faux legitimacy, amount to pure greed. This is deplorable, and James condemns them as spiritual adulteresses and friends of the world (4:4).
Back to James and John. Though a motive for James’ and John’s request is not specified, Jesus’ gives a hint by warning against seeking positions of dominance over others (Mt 20:25). Their request seems to be a brazen power grab, and this is what angers their compatriots (20:24).
Yet another warning arises from this episode. When Jesus asks if they are able to “drink the cup that I am about to drink,” they replied, “We are able” (20:22). What a complete misjudgment of their abilities! Our self-confidence is often inflated, and God knows that what we undertake through it will be a disaster. “No” is the best answer to such requests.
By all means let us submit our plans and petitions to God, but we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (Jas 4:15).
