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And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive it all.”
Matthew 21:22 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
  • KJV And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
  • BSB If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
  • NKJV And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
  • NLT You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Whatever we ask in believing prayer we will receive. This is a promise of God's faithful response to faith-filled, God-aligned petition.

Overview

This verse caps Jesus' teaching on prayer with a sweeping promise that should be read alongside the rest of Scripture's instruction on prayer. Believing prayer is not a blank check but petition shaped by trust in God and conformity to His will and Word (cf. 1 John 5:14-15). The emphasis falls on confident dependence on a good Father who hears His children.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Matt 7:7“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
  • 1 Jn 5:14–15This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.
  • Mark 11:24Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.
  • 1 Jn 3:22and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
  • John 14:13Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
  • Luke 11:8–10I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
  • Matt 18:19Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
  • Jas 5:16Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
  • John 16:24Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.
  • John 15:7If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
  • Matt 7:11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 21:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 21:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.