WHAT DID JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAID 'ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE'?

Jesus said we are to ask and we will receive, knock and the door shall be opened for you, seek and you will find... all these are an outline of how we are to approach our God and our Father through the Lord Jesus requesting those things that we have need of according to His will. God knows the end result as to what is best for us and we need to understand that when we don't get what we ask for, or a door isn't opened or what we are seeking isn't immediately forthcoming, it is because God knows what is best for us and the best time for us to receive them.

That being said, if we ask Him for forgiveness, or to help us increase in faith or to have more of His Spirit to overcome our natural inclinations and to combat the influences of this world, those are always given immediately if ask for in faith. Our God and Father Yehovah truly deals with us as His sons and daughters and is always looking out for our best interest, leading us as new creations in the Messiah to the coming new age life in His coming Kingdom when we will co-inherit and co-rule with His beloved son Jesus.

From personal experience, my God and Father Yehovah has always given me what I need spiritually, physically, and emotionally. All that I have has come from His loving hand. The peace of mind I have knowing that He has my back and no harm can come to me unless He allows is a great blessing. As our physical fathers strove to keep us safe and secure and lead us to go the right way; our God and Father does so much more for us.

What amazing grace to know that our God and Father has given to us His beloved son's spirit to guide us along the difficult narrow path that leads to life in the coming new age and now acts as our High Priest and our advocate before the throne of his God and ours, his Father and ours. If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Notice:

Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" in John 16:24. Similar statements are found in Matthew 7:7; 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; and John 15:7. Is this a blanket promise with no conditions? We need to consider this: are Jesus' words to be understood in light of other revelations?
If we assume that "ask and you will receive" means "ask for anything you want and I'll give it to you," then we have turned the Lord into a cosmic genie who serves our every whim. This is the problem of prosperity gospel and word of faith teachings.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that whoever asks receives, whoever seeks finds, and whoever knocks will find an open door (Matthew 7:7-8). But with this and all other verses we must always examine the context. Jesus goes on to say that God will not fail to give His children good things (verse 11). So, this is one condition to the promise of "ask and receive": what we ask for must be good according to God's estimation. God will give advantageous gifts to His children; He will not give us bad or injurious things. The best example of a good gift is the Holy Spirit, according to Luke 11:13. We begin to see a two-fold purpose of prayer; to increase our understanding of what God calls "good" and to cultivate a desire in us for what He considers to be good.
Our prayers to God are not unlike our requests of men. Our prayers are based in a relationship, as Jesus points out in Matthew 7:8. If a child asks his father for something the father knows to be hurtful, the request is denied. Conversely, when the child asks for something that the father knows is beneficial, the father will provide it eagerly because he loves his child.
We have another condition to the promise of "ask and receive" in John 14:14, "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
Here, Jesus does not promise his disciples anything and everything they want; rather, he instructs them to ask "in my name." To pray in Jesus' name is to pray on the basis of Jesus' authority, but it also involves praying according to the will of God, for the will of God is what Jesus always did and does (John 6:38). This truth is stated explicitly in 1 John 5:14, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Our requests must be congruent - in accordance with the will of God.
The promise of "ask and receive," even with its conditions, can never disappoint. There is no chance of things we need not being according to God's will. He promises to supply what we need when we "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).
Now consider that what we want is not always what we need.
If what we want is not according to God's will, then we really don't need to receive it. God knows what is good for us and in His love will say "no" to selfish and foolish prayers, no matter how much we want what we're asking for. He will also so "no" to prayers will not be good for us at the time we are asking, but may answer them when the time is right for us to recieve what we have asked for. He know the end from the beginning in everything about us and acts according to what He knows is good for us at all times.
God will always give us good things. Our job is to understand what is good, so that we know what to ask for. The natural mind cannot understand this, but the man whose mind is led and influenced by the holy spirit does. When we offer ourselves as "a living sacrifice" and are transformed by the renewing of our minds and hearts it is at that time we "will be able to test and approve what God's will is; His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2). Then, asking for what we need in faith, we will have all we need to live a life of godliness with fullness of joy (John 16:24).
The biblical instruction concerning prayer is that we pray for the good things that we truly need, according to the will of God, in the authority of Jesus the Messiah, persistently (see Luke 18:1), unselfishly (see James 4:3), and in faith (see James 1:6). In Matthew 21:22 Jesus again emphasizes faith: "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Those who truly obey according to God will witness the amazing, infinite power of God. However, comparing Scripture with Scripture, we know that the asking must be done according to the will of God. Having the faith of Jesus we know that God's plan for us is best. If we ask for healing, and that is the best thing for us, we should not doubt that God will heal us. If He does not heal, then not being healed is a necessary part of His plan that is ultimately for our good. Ultimately we will all be completely healed when we are resurrected to me the Lord Jesus in the air!
Consider Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in Yehovah and He will give you the desires of your heart." This verse means that, if we walk in faithful obedience before Him, He will reward us with whatever need we have. It means that, when we delight ourselves in God, then we will find everything we want and need in Him. The key here is that the heart of the seeker is renewed. When we delight in the Lord God Yehovah, His desires begin to become our own. When our desires are in line with God's, then our prayers are automatically aligned with His will.
Among the most important prayers in the life of a Christian are "Teach me to love you with all my heart, mind and all my being and strenth" and "Place in my heart to want what you want for me." When we truly desire to do the will of God, when we are passionate to see His will accomplished our lives and in this world, and when we ask for what brings Him glory, He is eager to give us anything we ask for. Sometimes the things that glorify God are pleasant - a marriage or a child. Sometimes they are difficult for us - a failure that humbles us or a physical weakness that makes us more dependent upon Him (see 2 Corinthians 12:7). But, when we pray within His will, in the authority of Jesus, persistently, unselfishly, and in faith, we will receive what we need.