Sincere Asking.

'(2) Ask for the separation of soul and spirit. After knowing, there must be a genuinely earnest desire in the heart, a requesting that this mingled soul and spirit be cut apart. Just here the question rests with the human will. Should believers prefer to enjoy what they themselves consider the best life and not desire to have their soul and spirit divided, God will respect their personal rights and not force them into such experience.   (The Spiritual Man- Watchman Nee)'

ASKING-

Mat_7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you

Mat_7:11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Mat_21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Joh_14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Joh_14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Joh_15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Joh_15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Joh_16:23  And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Joh_16:24  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full

Joh_16:26  At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:

Jas_1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Jas_1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Jas_4:3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

pleasing in his sight.

1Jn_5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us

1Jn_5:15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him

1Jn_5:16  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

*******

Clearly we are to ASK God for what we need- and NOT ask amiss.  Recognizing the need to separate the soul-self and spirit-self to the point that the spirit-self rules over the soul-self is definitely needed. We MUST ask for this separation. When we ask it must be in sincerity.  How many people pray prayers making their requests known to God, but do so in such an automaton fashion that while they are asking God for various things, they are in truth asking for nothing because their hearts are not in it, their earnest desire is no longer present. They repeat prayers they've heard for years, or they repeat set prayers- words given to them by others and in truth they leave their prayers feeling as if they've fulfilled an obligation to pray- but nothing more. As soon as the prayer is over the one praying returns to their life as usual, their duty to God done.  Is this true asking, is this true prayer and supplication?

We KNOW we need the spirit to reign in us guiding all the decisions we make, not the soul-self making the decision all on its own. You do know what I mean, don't you? How often are our decisions made as we think of our self- our own best interest- without ever consulting God in prayer? Too often. We need God first in a REAL way, not in pretend.

The question then becomes, as mentioned above, do we truly WANT the separation? Or do we want life to remain the same without any boat rocking?

We need this, but do we want this and if we don't- why don't we?

I CRY out as the father in the Bible did as He requested healing for his son- 'Lord, I believe! Help thou mine unbelief!'