Where in the Bible are we encouraged to ask?

Answer 1

"When those bitter days have come upon you far in the future, you will finally return to the LORD your God and listen to what He tells you. For the LORD your God is Merciful - He will not abandon you or forget the solemn covenant He made with your ancestors. Search all of history ["For ask now of the days that are past...": KJV], from the time God created people on earth until now. Then search['ask'] from one end of the heavens to the other. See if anything as great as this has ever happened before. Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire - as you did - and survive?" (Deut.4:30-33 NLT New Living Translation)

"If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have drawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which ye have not known; then thou shalt inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be Truth, and the thing is certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword." (Deut.13:12-15 KJV)

"...They are a deceitful and twisted generation. Is this the way you repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Isn't He your Father who created You? Has He not made you and established you? Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past. Ask your father and he will inform you. Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when He divided up the human race, He established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of angelic beings. (Deut.32:5-8 NLT)

The Bible encourages man to "ask of God through Faith." When our faithless actions precede council with our Creator... or in lieu of it... and pain, suffering, calamity and ruin follow; then the Bible warns man to be careful of what he asks:

"'Shout with the voice of a Trumpet blast [a call to war]. Tell My people... of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple [church] every day and seem delighted to hear My Laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to Me and asking Me to take action on their behalf. 'We have fasted before you!' they say. 'Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!'

"I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with Me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?

"No, the kind of fasting I want calls for you to free those who are wrongfully imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

"If you do these things, your Salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the Glory of the LORD will protect you from behind." (Isa.58:1-8 NLT)

The Bible also gives encouraging instruction on HOW to ask.

"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of evil desires within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ASK God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - you want only what will give you pleasure." (James 4:1-3 NLT)

Answer 2

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus encourages his followers to ask, saying, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." This verse emphasizes the importance of seeking and asking God for what we need or desire.