"Ask and keep asking! Seek and keep seeking! Knock and keep knocking! Do not be afraid to ask, and do not hesitate to ask! I am your Father in heaven, and you are My children. Ask of Me, and you shall receive! Ask of the Holy Spirit, and it shall be given to you. Ask for My wisdom and revelation, as you prepare to move into the next level!"
Jesus said in Luke 11:9-10 (Amplified Bible), "So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened."
Jesus then said further in Luke 11:11-13 (Amplified Bible), "What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!"
See, your heavenly Father has great pleasure in giving you good gifts when you ask! Notice here, Jesus said 'how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit'! Interestingly, Jesus didn't say 'give money', 'give big house/car', 'give positions', 'give connections', 'give fame', etc! But He said 'give the Holy Spirit'! In other words, 'good gifts' here translates to 'the Holy Spirit'! You know why? Because when you have the Holy Spirit, you have everything! The truth is when you have the Holy Spirit to show you the way, and disclose to you what you should do (or how you should go about doing things), every 'good thing' will come!
Indeed, this is a key time to ask of the Holy Spirit - because He knows all things - even things regarding your future! And don't stop until you get the answer! Jesus said in John 16:13-15 (Amplified Bible), "But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you."
People of God, as you prepare for the new decade that's coming, and as you get ready to move into the next level, ask the Holy Spirit to disclose to you the wisdom, revelation, and even strategies that you need - be it in your family, career, business, ministry, or even investments!
You might ask, "Why do some Christians ask but do not receive?"
Some people ask but do not receive, because they ask amiss! In other words, they ask according to their own self-indulgent desires (motivated by lust, greed, pride), instead of asking for what is God's best for them! To put it simply, they ask with wrong motives! James 4:1-3 (Amplified) says, 'What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]? You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]. You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires'. By the way, the word 'hedonistic' here is from the Greek word 'hedone' meaning 'engaged in the pursuit of own selfish pleasure or self-indulgence (motivated by lust, greed, pride)'.
The answer is by praying in the spirit! Because when you pray in the spirit, you are in effect praying God's perfect will for your life! Romans 8:26-28 (Amplified Bible) says, 'The Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will. And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose'.
You see, the truth is the Holy Spirit knows you better than you'd ever do! So, don't ask according to what your carnal mind think (or presume) is best for you, but ask of the Holy Spirit who knows EXACTLY what's best for you! And when the Holy Spirit begins to take it from here, you can be sure to walk into all that Ephesians 3:20 has promised you: 'Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, according to the power (of the Holy Spirit) that works in you'. Amen!
