Bible Strands
Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples in the temple area, immediately after the withered fig tree and the mountain-into-sea saying (v.21), just before the chief priests and elders challenge His authority (v.23).
The words — αἰτήσητε (aitēsēte), aorist subjunctive of αἰτέω, denotes a specific, deliberate request rather than a vague wish; the ἂν + subjunctive construction frames it as "whatever you may ask," stressing the particularity of each petition.
The thread — Mark 11:24 gives the closest parallel in the same pericope, adding "believe that you have received it." 1 John 5:14 supplies the qualifier "according to His will," and Matthew 7:7 broadens the principle to ask, seek, and knock.
Why it lands — The verse makes belief the condition, not a bonus: the one who asks must already trust the answer is coming. It asks the reader to check whether their prayers are offered in faith or in doubt.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Cross-references
- Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- 1 John 3:22 and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
- John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- Matthew 18:19 Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
- Luke 11:8 I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
- John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
- James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Matthew 7:11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!