Sometimes in churches we hear believers testifying or encouraging others to pray for various needs. More often than not, they pray for material things, such as cars, houses, degrees, jobs or green cards, etc. They believe that as long as you pray sincerely, God will answer your prayer. For the scripture says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke:11:9,10). I am very puzzled by this kind of materialistic interpretation of scripture. If this were the proper way to interpret scriptural truth, then it should be applicable in all situations and circumstances. In reality, there are many counter-examples.

We recognize that many prayers concerning material needs are indeed answered. Yet many more such requests are not granted. Due to the finiteness of this material world, it would be impossible to grant every prayer requesting material provisions. For instance, in 1992 our seminary had an opening for a theology professorship. For that one opening, there were thirty-seven Christian applicants. If everyone of them prayed to God sincerely, whose prayer should God answer? No matter who gets the position, the other thirty-six would be disappointed. The materialistic interpretation of that passage of scripture, "ask and it will be given you", is thus proven wrong.

Furthermore, the materialistic interpretation of "ask and it will be given to you" seems to contradict the very nature of God. Presumably, if a person prays for success before robbing a bank, should God grant his wishes? If someone desires a promotion and prays for the death of his boss, should God answer his prayer? These may sound comical, but in fact many such prayers are made. A few years ago, a Chinese couple won six million dollars in the lottery. They testified that before they purchased the lottery ticket, they prayed sincerely to God, and God answered their prayer by telling them the numbers in a dream. They purchased the ticket with the set of numbers and behold they were the winning numbers! If God answers this kind of self-seeking prayers, He is not the holy and righteous God that we know.

Finally, the materialistic interpretation of "ask and it will be given to you" also goes against the essence of prayer. Things we pray for are things that cannot be obtained through any other means. If the things we pray for can be obtained through other means, the value of prayer is greatly diminished. If prayer is for the express purpose of obtaining material things, then the rich have no need to pray. This probably explains why so many wealthy and self-sufficient Chinese people are not attracted by this kind of materialistic prayer theology.

What we pray for is closely related to our faith. When Satan tempted Jesus, he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him.(Matt 4:8-9;Luke: 4:5-7) On the other hand, Jesus began his ministry by saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."(Matt4:17) Jesus wanted to give us a spiritual life that comes from the kingdom of heaven and this is the reason for our belief. If what one prays for does not bear any relation to this spiritual life but rather aims to satisfy one's material desires, then the prayer has nothing to do with Jesus or faith. In fact, this is a common practice among people worshipping idols in temples.   There is nothing wrong with the exhortations to "pray for everything" and "ask and it will be given to you". The "everything" that we are encouraged to pray for means the needs of our spiritual life, and the things that we receive in response are the provision for this spiritual life also. God has given us a spiritual life, and His provision is for the good of this spiritual life. When we have this spiritual life, we can live differently from the world. Everything that we pray for should be based on this spiritual attitude. No matter whether it is gain or loss materially speaking, if we hold firm to this spiritual attitude, we will grow in our spiritual life. This then is the effect of prayer and the provision from God.

Let us go back to the scripture verse mentioned earlier. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke11:11-13) When we ask for spiritual life, God gives it to us; when we seek for the source of our faith, God leads us to find; when we knock on the door of the heavenly kingdom, God opens the door for us. It does not make sense if we pray for His kingdom, and God responses with earthly things, does it?

Abridged from page 34, April 1995 issue of Overseas Campus Magazine.

Mr. Lieu Tongshue came from Beijing, has studied at Yale Law School, and is currently studying in a seminary