In many of the prayer passages in the Gospel, we are told to ask and we will receive.
Receive is a passive word, implying that we must passively sit by and wait until the answer comes.
But Thayer’s definition of the Greek word lámbanō used in these scriptures is much different. He defines it as an active participation—to take, lay hold of, take possession of, take what is one’s own!
Lambánō
- to take
- to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it
- to take up a thing to be carried
- to take upon one's self
- to take in order to carry away, without the notion of violence, i.e. to remove, take away
- to take what is one's own, to take to one's self, to make one's own
- to claim, procure, for one's self
- to associate with one's self as companion, attendant of that which when taken is not let go, to seize, to lay hold of, apprehend
- to take by craft (our catch, used of hunters, fisherman, etc.), to circumvent one by fraud
- to take to one's self, lay hold upon, take possession of, i.e. to appropriate to one's self
- catch at, reach after, strive to obtain
- to take a thing due, to collect, gather (tribute)
- to take
- to admit, receive
- to receive what is offered, not to refuse or reject
- to receive a person, give him access to one's self
- to regard any one's power, rank, external circumstances, and on that account to do some injustice or neglect something
- to take, to choose, select
- to take beginning, to prove anything, to make a trial of, to experience
- to receive (what is given), to gain, get, obtain, to get back
And we further know that all things belong to us [1 Corinthians 3:21-23] and that He loves us as much as He loves Jesus. [John 17:22,23]
Prayer
So what is prayer, then? To passively wait to receive what is already ours?
How would that work, exactly? You can sit in a bank, waiting to receive, and wait until you’re thrown out at closing time, still broke, even though you may have had many accounts full of money.
Or, you can walk into the bank and TAKE what is already yours! Take your legal authority over those who are presently keeping the money and take it to yourself!
I was thinking about the much maligned Faith preachers who talked about claiming things in the earth, and I asked the Father where that came from.
And He led me right to Mark 11:22-24.
‘And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly [AMEN] I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have RECEIVED them, and they will be granted you.”’So I looked up the Greek word for RECEIVED and there it was, hidden in the fine print…lambánō! To CLAIM, procure for oneself! To TAKE!
Son of a gun! Now, I have always had the utmost respect for many of these so-called Faith ministers—all ministers should preach faith instead of lying about how God is going to take [kill] your children—the Word says death is God’s ENEMY! Sorry for the brief side rant…
And I believe the Word when it says all things belong to me, that I am an heir of God and a fellow heir—a co-inheritor—with Christ [Romans 8:17]
And I really believe that ‘For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our AMEN—so be it—to the GLORY of God THROUGH US. [2 Corinthians 1:20] If you’ve read more than two articles on this blog, you know that’s right and I have now officially written myself right into happy!
But to be honest, waiting around to receive what’s already mine hasn’t always worked for me. I’m careful to base my prayers on the forever-settled Word of God, and I pray in the Name of Jesus—I am one Spirit with the Lord, and as His Body in the earth, that Name belongs to me!
And I try to see, on purpose, the promises as being already true in my life…I take time to close my eyes and look at the as yet unseen manifested promise.
But now I understand that I must TAKE what is mine, carry it away, take possession of it WHEN I PRAY! At a specific point in time…
Leap for Joy
I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating. A few years ago, my MacBook Pro was 44 days from the end of the 3-year warranty period and I was having problems. I took it in to be looked at, and as it was the 3rd time the logic board had to be replaced, they gave me a BRAND NEW laptop! And as mine was top of the line when purchased, this replacement was also top of the line. They asked me to come back to pick it up in a couple of hours because they needed to set it up, and as I walked out of the Apple Store, I could barely stop myself from leaping into the air! I had to force myself to walk calmly and not jump for joy, literally! I finally understood the Scripture references about skipping…
And I heard, very clearly, “This is how you should feel when you pray.”
Wow, did I get it. Every promise of God is YES and AMEN [2 Corinthians 1:20] and we have been clearly instructed to believe we receive when we pray, not when the answer shows up. So our response to believing we receive [take] when we pray should be joy! When we finish praying, we should so believe that our prayers have been answered that we should be leaping for joy!
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” [John 14:13,14]
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you…These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” [John 15:7,11]
“In that day, you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly*, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” [John 16:23,24]
*Greek—AMEN AMEN!! OMG…I’m not saying I’m there yet. It takes a purposeful approach to prayer to believe you receive when you pray…that the answer is yours at that moment, and actually from before the foundation of the world! [Hebrews 4:3]
And in my example, I did not return to the store every 15 minutes, asking them about the new laptop. They said it was mine, and I believed them. And they were just plain old human beings!
Let’s look at Isaiah 54:1…
‘Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed…’God is clearly telling the one whose prayers have not yet manifested in the earth to SHOUT FOR JOY! Why? Because the prayers have already been answered…shout for joy after taking (receiving) the answer in prayer but before the answer manifests in the earth!
Then there’s Psalm 27:13…
‘I would have despaired** unless I had BELIEVED that I would SEE [perceive, appear, become visible] the goodness of the Lord in the LAND OF THE LIVING.’Believe you will see what you TAKE—lámbanō—in prayer! See every promise of God as YES for you…give the AMEN to the glory of God manifesting though us!
**The literal translation is ‘Surely I believed…’
Try praying from this mindset…you are one Spirit with the Lord [1 Corinthians 6:17], all things already belong to you [1 Corinthians 3:21-23] and as He is, so are you in this world! [1 John 4:17]
Ask in His Name because you are His body, one with Him, much like a women takes her husband’s name in marriage, or use to, anyway…
An aside here…I just saw this. A woman takes her husband’s name. She lays hold of everything he has or ever will have and takes it as hers. She uses his name legally—they are one person, as far as the law goes. The name gives her the right to take whatever she wants that is his [and vice versa]. She takes his name in covenant, just like we take the Name of Jesus in covenant!
Don’t use His Name like a spiritual rabbit’s foot…come to prayer understanding who you are in Christ and what His will is for you. Pray according to His will [His Word] and TAKE the answer right there, when you pray.
And leap for joy!
Hallelujah!
