So how do we ask God for things in this life?

A certain amount of people are taught and I was one of these people – that you shouldn't ask God for things and that you may be asking too much of God. The Bible shows us the truth around this and how we should really be asking God.

Ephesians 3:20-21 KJV
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

When I read scriptures I began a simple process of learning to break them down into sections, doing it that way I began to see – understand how God was showing myself the power of His words. Pretty much the same process you would use in school, when learning how to spell out large words.

Now unto him, (That's God)
That is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. (God is able to do even more, than what we could ever think to do or could ask for).

According to the power that worketh in us, (According to the power of the Holy Spirit, that is at work within us).

God says to us and then shows us, there's nothing that we could ever ask or think of that is too big for Him. While I read that I started to see that my imagination concerning God wasn't very big. I had defiled my imagination – made it unclean with so much sin, that made my image of Him distorted. God wants us to ask Him for things, because He tells us to by saying that there's nothing we could ask to be too big for Him. That really stood out to me, making me realize that everything I ever desired or wanted was never going to  come to pass – because I never pursued God in the desires I wanted. That began to spark another question in my mind, So why did the things I wanted then never happen?

James 4:3 NKJV
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

The more I broke Scripture down, the more I felt that God was revealing the truth to me.

You ask and do not receive, (I hoped for things in this life and nothing happened).

Because you ask amiss, (I was asking with wrong or bad intentions).

That you may spend it on your pleasures, (I wanted things to please and benefit myself without God in my life).

This is why I needed to learn how to ask for things, then learn how to ask God for these things in faith. That's when I started to see that when I came in faith to God, the more I spent time in the word of God the further my image of Him began to change. I began to picture God as my loving Father, who wanted nothing more than to help me because He loved me. Not giving me things that in the long run, which were just going to hurt me, or lead myself down a bad path of sin.

Matthew 7:9-11 NKJV
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

The way I saw life, my actions, my attitude, it all started to change as I spent time in the word of God, it made me no longer want the old things that were pleasing to me. Something began to change in my heart, as now I wanted to please God, as I slowly began to see Him bless my life in ways that were unexplainable. God started His blessings by simply changing the way I saw myself. It was as simple as that, all I had to do was let Jesus Christ into my heart. The pleasures I once dwelled in became irrelevant to my life. I stopped seeing them as pleasures and I began to see them now as sinful deeds. God wants to bless us and give us good things in this life, I truly believe this because I have seen it come to pass in my own life so many times. As I walked away from a horrible, destroying, sinful life, into a life that was about to take myself down a blessed path, a path of following Jesus Christ. This is the importance of why we need to learn how to ask God for those good things in our lives. That only begins by changing the way we see God first. God shows us how we see the truth, in return we begin to change the way we see ourselves. This is when we picture what God wants to do within our lives. It's no longer about us now.

I believe that this comes straight back to our imagination. I going to imagine God as a loving God, who wants nothing more than myself to prosper in all areas, my marriage, my job, my finances, as He helped me remove sin from my life. Or was I going to look to the world for these pleasures – pleasures that at that time might feel great and enjoyable but in time, all these pleasures of this world fade away and never last. Pleasures that corrupt us, then distort us on the way we see life, then this will distort the way we choose to think. The word distort has two definition meanings.

The first meaning – To twist or pull out of shape.
The second meaning – To give a misleading or false account or impression of.

Both meanings are basically what sin does to our thinking. Jesus said if we remain in Him, having faith in God and trusting in Him, He will bless us in all areas of our lives. Not some areas, not most areas of our lives but in all areas of our lives.
 
John 15:1-8 NKJV
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Every time I read this passage I am blown away by the power of this Scripture. When we allow God's words to dwell in our hearts, it begins to do something amazing, we begin to glorify God in the things we do. Like Christ said, My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; I began to learn further how we really should ask God for things in this lifetime, that He may be glorified in all the things we choose to do. It was no longer about me and my selfish nature. I wanted Jesus in my life, in return I wanted to tell everyone about what God was doing in my life. Even though many didn't want to hear about my experiences, I didn't care, this wasn’t going to stop me and it didn't stop discouraging me either. I began a new path in life and so many things were constantly changing, it was so amazing and so was Michelle amazed on how I began to change. I didn't want to be the branch that withers away anymore. I didn't want to be thrown into the fire, just so that I could be burnt up to complete ashes. I had limited God in my life to many times in the past, now that I was a new creation in Christ. I wanted to be the branch that abides in the vine. God will always remain faithful to us, all we need to do is remain faithful to Him. God remains faithful first. My next process was that I needed to learn how to not limit God through my life, through my prayers, through my marriage and in my walk with Him.