D&C 8:10 -- On Asking Appropriately

"Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not."
Doctrine and Covenants 8:10


I love the idea of asking God for things, and having faith that he will give them. It is a simple but powerful concept--going to the Lord and having faith (belief plus action) that God will give. God tells us (and even commands) that we should ask (Matthew 7:7) and tells us that he wants to give us what we ask for. For instance, we read "what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? / Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?" (Matthew 7:9-10).

Hearing that though, sometimes we think that God will give us anything we want without reservation, or that he is overly indulgent, but God has anticipated our greed, and he tells us "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you; / And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation" (D&C 88:64-65).

It's a somewhat confusing idea sometimes because in a way it is true that we can have anything we want, and in a way it is not true. If we're in tune with God, we can have what we want, because we won't ask for things that go against God's will... or, as with Christ, we will defer our will to His. Being in tune to the Spirit all the time of course takes careful practice and determined study and development of our relationship with God, so God helps us out with scriptural clarification as well about what we should and shouldn't ask for.

God lets us know that he is willing to give us abundant blessings, but that it is possible to ask "amiss" (2 Nephi 4:35), and that we need to be careful what we ask for (D&C 8:10), that we should ask in holiness of heart for what is "right" (Mosiah 4:21), with prayer, keeping the commandments (1 Nephi 15:11), and being careful not to ask for the satisfaction of physical "lusts" (Mormon 9:28) or to allow ourselves to be pulled in by bad influences (D&C 46:7). We're also told clearly that we need to put in effort beyond just asking: "Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me" (D&C 9:7). We also understand this from several scripture stories, for instance Nephi seeking the plates of brass or the Brother of Jared asking for light for his journey. Persistence and creativity are also sometimes required... part of the faith needed in *acting* on our belief. What we ask of God can't be just some fleeting desire, but something that we, in righteousness, are willing to work for.

We're also counseled about some of the things it is good to ask for, which definitely helps as we are learning to ask correctly. Some of the things are wisdom (James 1:5), avoidance of temptation, and knowledge (D&C 8:11)... all good places to start.

Today, let's do as God suggests and ask him for those things that we need, and that we earnestly desire in righteousness. Let's also be careful about what we ask, making sure that it is really what we want, and that we are deferring to the Lord's will in all things. As we learn to ask appropriately, God will help us in our lives and be able to bless us more abundantly.